


Moral Compass

by moosesmittens, rrc



Category: Flatland - Edwin A. Abbott, Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Comfort that ends in hurt, Dark Humor, Flatland-based backstory, Fluff in Sketchy Circumstances, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Canonical Character(s), Minor Character-Centric, Other, POV Minor Character, Time Food, Torture, Triangle Bill Cipher, Weirdmageddon, inappropriate use of banjos, unlikely friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-06-05 16:07:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6711940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosesmittens/pseuds/moosesmittens, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rrc/pseuds/rrc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kryptos has mixed feelings about the party that never ends and the host that never dies, which he laments to a captive audience, aka Stanford Pines. Bill isn't too keen on sharing his pet, however.</p><p>((<a href="http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/tagged/moral-compass">tumblr fic tag</a>))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _Warnings:_ lots of torture, mind games, blood, gore, humiliation, treating humans like animals/pets, alcohol (um, sort of), discussed genocide, discussed institutionalized abuse, awful humor, and swearing. Chapter-specific warnings will be listed before each chapter.  
> 
> rrc: This is a reformatted rp with shifting perspectives. Also, the implied relationships are 1) Bill Cipher/Pyronica, which becomes very much not just implied in the sequel..ish...thing, and 2) vaguely implied Billford, so please be aware! (Also i forgot to mention here that the Hectorgon/Kryptos stuff is a bit more towards the end so...yeah...)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: pretty much none of the above warnings except alcohol, reference to torture, humans being treated like animals/pets, and swearing (and mild swearing at that).
> 
> (( _[Tumblr.](http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/143697795413/moral-compass)_ ))

Kryptos stares down at his drink, sighing. The Time Ice in the cup has long since melted, leaving his Time Punch watered down and unpalatable. Not that it matters, seeing as he hasn’t touched his drink once since he got it.  
  
He likes parties, he guesses...at least for the first hour or two. But this one has been going on for days, and the appeal has long since worn off. The music was fun to dance to, but he’d grown sick of that too, and now that he is standing around for a while the repetitive nature of the beat is beginning to get on his nerves. He sighs again, casting a glance to his friends. They all seem like they’re having a good time right now and probably wouldn’t want to be bothered.  
  
His gaze wanders. He never really looked at the Fearamid...He supposes it’s kind of cool, design-wise...There’s a slanted ceiling that seems to go on forever, and the floors are shiny...It’s big...and...impressive...and stuff…  
  
His eye travels down to the opposite corner of the room, to where the human is chained. Bill’s made quite a show of parading the little creature around, tormenting it and such, but he’s been ignoring it ever since it died the last time.  
  
It looks a little lonely, now that Bill isn’t playing with it. Hectorgon had muttered something about it being nothing but trouble, but it doesn’t seem like much of a problem. Maybe it’ll make good company, or at least an amusing distraction.  
  
Kryptos makes his decision and hovers over to the imprisoned being. It’s not like he has much else to do, anyway.

Stanford wants to be anywhere else but here. His arms are chained in front of him and attached to a heavy collar affixed around his neck. All he can do is get as comfortable as possible, leaning against the wall he’s been shackled to. The migraine behind his eyes throbs as the music pounds through his skull, hitting his brain with every beat. His arms strain to cover his ears, but all he can do is tilt his head awkwardly to the side to block at least one ear. It doesn’t do much except make him look like a curious owl.

He groans as his shoulder cracks and the muscles in his neck strain. This was not how he planned to spend his retirement…. If he retired at all… If he even lived to see the day…

He curls his legs underneath himself, chains clinking musically. He manages to twist his body around and press his forehead to the cold wall. Anything to relieve the building pressure in his head. He shuts his eyes, grimacing.

Kryptos stares at the creature. He doesn’t understand Bill’s fascination with the thing. It’s small, it’s pretty much entirely made of meat, and it’s so frail and stupid. That and it smells weird.They’d slaughtered creatures like these by the thousands in other dimensions. What’s so special about this one?  
  
Well, he doesn’t have many other options for company or entertainment right now, so he decides he might as well start talking to the thing.  
  
“Hey there.” he says casually, as though he was talking to any other being and not some little meat pet of Bill’s. “Enjoying the party?”

Ford’s eyes snap open, swinging around to the sudden voice. His hackles are raised and his teeth are bared. The creature that stands before him is a curious thing… A Diamond? His brain scrambles to process it. It must be a trap. Bill’s got to be somewhere, watching him.

“What! What do you want from me?” He growls, fists clenching as he raises them.

Kryptos shrugs. “Just wanna talk to someone.” Oh god..he’s not good at this...his casual facade wavers a bit. He takes a drink of the Time Punch in his hand to soothe his nerves. It tastes as washed out and gross as he thought it would, but he swallows it anyway, his mouth twisting into a bit of a grimace. He coughs, the bite of the alcohol reaching his tongue. He shouldn’t have gotten himself such a big helping of the stuff, but Pyronica and Hectorgon had been watching him, and he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it if he took any less.

Ford’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “What about your ‘friends’ over there?” He nods over to the group of Henchmaniacs. The pink demon notices his gaze and waves frantically at him.

He quickly averts his eyes.

Kryptos shrugs again. “They’re busy doing their own thing. And besides, they never just wanna talk.” He swirls his cup, as though it would make the contents more appetizing. That’s a normal, casual gesture, right?

Ford isn’t convinced. There has to be some sort of play to this. “Oh yeah? Well… What makes you think I want to talk to you?” He snaps, instantly regretting it as the rise in blood pressure makes him feel queasy.

He slumps forward in the chains with a heavy sigh.

  
Kryptos watches the creature curiously. It seems...tired? He guesses? Though he’s not sure why. It hasn’t been doing much since Bill chained it up.  
  
“Um...I dunno…” he says finally. “But like...what else are you gonna do?”

Sweat beads across Ford’s brow and he slowly raises his head. “Fine… Just… I don’t know… At least get me some water or something… Or food.”

Kryptos stares, confused. “Um...ok…” he looks around. “Uh...what’s ‘wah-tur’?”

Ford blinks slowly. _Oh for the love of…_

“It’s a liquid. Two hydrogen molecules bound to an oxygen molecule. Human bodies are seventy percent of it.” He explains wearily.

Kryptos’ confusion increases. “Then can’t you just...use the stuff...already in your body?”

“.... No. That’s the problem. It gets used up.”

Kryptos stares. “That’s, er...o-ok…"  _That seems fake but ok_. “Where do you get this...watur?”

Ford rolls his eyes in exasperation. “Lakes, ponds… Fresh water tends to come from taps but since you lot destroyed the town… Probably not happening any time soon…”  
  
Kryptos’ eye glazes over, his mind already beginning to wander. That seems like an awful lot of work to find. His gaze drifts, and eventually settles on the snack table. “Hey,” he interjects suddenly. “do humans eat Time Food?”  
  
Ford furrows his brow. “Well… Sort of… It was illegal in the last dimension I was in.”  
  
Kryptos is already floating over to the snack table. He gathers up some random foods into a bowl and hurries back to the human.  
  
He sifts through the bowl. “Ok, um...we’ve got Time Puffs, Time Eclairs, Time Popcorn, Slices of Time, Time Chips…”

Ford peers curiously into the bowl. “Fascinating…” He muses, in spite of himself. “Uh… Well I’ve eaten Dimension X Chips before… Are they the same as those?”  
  
Kryptos looks at the chips in his bowl. Each one is half the size of the small creature. "Um...I think they're kinda the same? Like they're supposed to flaunt the laws of physics and stuff but they're really tasty..."

“I think I can eat those…” Ford muses, leaning forward in his chains before peering up at the creature. “Thank you, uh…. What’s your name?”

Kryptos shrugs and sets the bowl down on the floor. He pulls out a shining, fluxing triangle and divides it into smaller pieces.

"Kryptos." he says, smiling. He crushes the last of the chip and hands it to the tiny human.

“Pleased to meet you, Kryptos. You seem nicer than your friends.”

Kryptos shrugs again. He glances at Bill and the rest of his friends. "Yeah..." he mutters. What kind of Henchmaniac does that make him, lauded as _nice_ by this skinbag?

He sighs. "I'm pretty sure they all think I'm the weak link. I guess they're not wrong..."

“Nothing weak about not following a crowd. That’s what I always say!”

Kryptos smiles again. He never thought of it that way. Wasn't Bill always saying there weren't any more rules here anyway?

Ford goes to reach for the chip but is swiftly reminded by the clink of the chains that he can’t move his arms. “Oh… Uh… Right.”

Kryptos sees the human struggling and moves a little closer. "So...how does this...how do humans eat?"

 _Seriously?_ Ford sighs. “We eat with our mouths.” He says, opening his up to show his teeth. “You just stick the food in there.”

Kryptos bends down and looks over the human's "mouth". "Oooh...hey that's like what I have!" He nods. "Ok!" He shoves a wad of chip bits into the human's mouth.

Ford finds his cheeks to be suddenly stuffed. His overall annoyance at that is quickly overrun by the flavour in his mouth. Kryptos is right. It’s delicious! It reminds him of an old bar he came across many dimensions ago.... Must have been Dimension XIX...

"KRYPTOS!"

The demon jumps at the sound of his name. He turns. "Oh, uh...h-hey there...Bill..."

Bill clicks his tongue, his hands on his sides. "You know how I feel about feeding my pets without my permission!"

Kryptos hurriedly deposits the food back into his bowl. "Sorry it just like...seemed hungry?"

Bill sighs. "They always say that, but just you can't believe them! No matter how much they beg!" He eyes Kryptos. The diamond-shaped demon was always a little...off, somehow. Not that Bill cares too much, seeing as he still goes along with his plans, and had for millennia, but...

Kryptos looks to the side. "'k..." he mumbles.

"I beg your pardon!” Ford interjects. “I am _not_ your pet, Bill! And you haven't fed me nearly enough food!" He snaps testily, rattling his chains.

Bill sighs. "see, this is what I mean!" He floats up to his prisoner and casually fluffs his hair. Ford growls, shaking his head.   
  
"Sixer's just a gumpy little human because he can't handle the excitement!" Bill motions to the party. "You should join us, Kryptos! Pyronica was about to set herself on fire and run through the town! We're all taking bets on how bad the damage will be!~"

Kryptos wrings his hands. "Well...that does sound kinda fun... I guess..." He glances at the human, then back at his friends, then to Bill. "I just...I don't know..."

"That sounds stupid." Ford mutters. "I can handle excitement, but idiocy is something else."

He eyes Kryptos knowingly. The amount of times he had to politely declined when college 'friends' invited him to 'get wasted'.

Bill scratches the human under the chin. "Awwww, he's so cute when he's cranky!" He looks up at his henchmaniac. "So how 'bout it, Krypster?"

Kryptos squeezes his hands together until they shake. "I just...Maybe in a bit..." He finally decides on a shrug. "I think i'm gonna go get some more food..."

He makes a hasty retreat to the snack table.

Bill sighs and takes another drink of his punch. "Weirdo..." he mutters, then shrugs. "Oh well! His loss!" Bill floats back to the group. "Whoooo's ready for some arson?~"

The henchmaniacs roar in approval, chanting "ARSON, ARSON, ARSON!"

Ford rolls his eyes. Bunch of idiots.

Kryptos winces. Why are they so damn loud...?

He glances at the human. Kryptos knows Bill said he had enough food... but Bill isn't exactly the most trustworthy creature. Still, defying Bill would bring that friendly demeanor of his crashing to a terrible halt... Bill can have a truly horrible temper.

Kryptos sighs. It's not like he has much else to do. And what’s the worst that could happen, all in all? Bill might disintegrate him again? It wouldn’t be anything new. And besides, if he _really_  pisses Bill off, Pyronica would probably help sort it out....he hopes anyway...

Kryptos turns back to the snack table. The human seemed to like the chips...but the demon isn't sure what else a human would want to eat. Smaller meat creatures? Didn't Bill say they did that, once?

He eventually decides to gather up a little more of everything and wanders back to the chained-up creature.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: swearing, alcohol, treating humans like animals/pets, implied genocide, discussed and implied torture, and discussion of systematic abuses.
> 
> (( _[Tumblr.](http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/143822117958/moral-compass-ch-2)_ ))

Ford watches Kryptos hurry off to the snacks. What a weird creature. He seemed different from the rest... He eyes him warily on his return. They’re on different sides. He has to be careful.

_Trust no one._

He sighs, letting himself sag against the chains.  
  
Kryptos floats down to the human. "Ok, so...Sixer?...I didn't know what you'd want, so I just got...everything...again..."

"Please, call me Ford." Ford interjects, eying the snacks.

Kryptos glances back at Bill, then leans in and whispers. "I don't really wanna piss him off, you know? So we've gotta be stealthy about this."

"Sure, but hey… That was nice of you, Kryptos. Thank you." Ford says with a small smile.

Kryptos winces. "gee, I hope not..." He's still not sure how he feels about that label, ‘nice’... Man, if his friends knew about this, he'd never hear the end of it.

He nods. "ok, uh, Ford?" he frowns in confusion. "is that your human name?" it's a truly strange moniker. No wonder Bill calls him Sixer.

"Yes, it's short for Stanford." Ford explains.

Kryptos shrugs. ‘Stanford’ isn’t any less of a weird name, but who's he to judge what other beings, of any level of sentience, decide to call themselves?

Ford eyes the bowl, something catching his eye. "Are those.... Time Gummies?" He asks, eyes widening. "I haven't had one of those since I was in Znathnar! Dimension II I believe!"

Kryptos looks down. "Oh yeah, they are," he smiles. The meat creature's kind of adorable when excited. "Do you want some?"

"You bet!" Ford nods eagerly. "They're incredibly hard to get but definitely my favourite inter-dimensional food!"

Kryptos shrugs again. "ok."

He glances back at the rest of his friends, who are leaving the Fearamid to set some stuff on fire and thus otherwise engaged, before taking one out of the bowl and offering it to the human.

Ford cringes as he reaches forth and takes the gummy in his teeth.

How humiliating.

But the sweet-sour burst of colourful flavour that hits him makes it totally worth it.

He chews and swallows contently. "Damn, that's good candy..."

Kryptos giggles. Humans look absolutely ridiculous when they eat, but it's kind of cute. "Ah yeah, well...you know Bill….nothing but the best for one of his crazy parties." Kryptos reaches into the bowl and offers him another.

"Oh I know Bill alright." Ford mumbles bitterly, flushing with embarrassment before taking another.

Kryptos shifts uncomfortably. Is the human mad? Bill isn't very nice to the creature, he supposes...

He looks off to the side, fishing out another piece. “I don't know, I guess he can be kind of a jerk, but he's still kinda my friend...and all my other friends really like him..."

“Well he has kind of destroyed my town and spent the last few hours torturing me so you'll understand why I'm not a fan." Ford takes the gummy again and eats it, his expression softens.

Kryptos nods, fiddling with a Time Chip. From the human's perspective, Bill must be like some sort of evil god, now that he thinks about it. Maybe these creatures are stupid and exceedingly temporary, but it did seem like they had some form of genuine consciousness and didn't particularly enjoy some of the stuff Bill was doing to them.  
  
Then again...not that that matters much...They’ve done worse things to higher life forms anyway...It’s kind of stupid to get broken up over such small, limited creatures…

"So uh... How did you get mixed up with a whack job like Bill anyway?" Ford asks.

Kryptos shrugs and motions with his hand. "It's kind of a long story, I guess. When Bill destroyed the 2nd Dimension, some people went into hiding. Hectorgon and I were on the run together when Bill found us. He remembered us from prison and offered us a chance to hang out with him."

Ford blinks. “He destroyed your entire dimension but you still chose to run with him? Forgive me… But that sounds pretty insane.”

Kryptos shrugs. "Everything's pretty insane, if you think about it. The universe is an insane place." He stares into the bowl. his hands shake slightly. "It's not like that dimension didn't have it coming anyway.... " he mutters. there's a bitter venom in his tone.

Ford’s eyebrows arch upwards. “You didn’t like your home? You thought Bill did the right thing?”

Kryptos looks away. "It...it...wasn't a good place..." he tosses the contents of the bowl around with his fingers. This isn't something he wants to talk about, and yet...well maybe he'd been holding it all in for a few billion years too long... "It was a really, really awful place, and they all deserved to  _die_..." He crushes a wad of Time Chips in his hand without thinking.

Ford scowls. “And you deserved to live?”

Kryptos bites his lip. " N-no... " he whispers. Oh god, he's so glad no one is around to see this.

His gaze returns to the human. "What do you know, anyway? you're just a stupid fleshbag. Even if Bill wasn't gonna liberate your world, you'll only exist for a few moments before your body rots away." he growls.

“Hey… Easy there, buddy…” Ford mutters. He can’t afford to get on someone else’s bad side…

“I guess I just don’t understand…” He shrugs, his shoulders crack from being held so stiffly.

"No you  _don't_  ." Kryptos hisses, driving his fist into the bowl. particles of snacks go flying everywhere.

Ford flinches at the sudden crash of the bowl.

"They all would have _consumed_ me if they'd had half a chance, so forgive me if I don't _shed a tear_ for any of them!" Kryptos isn't sure why he's saying all this. It's stupid and weak and...and...

He exhales, looking down at the crushed snacks. He can't believe a meat creature made him this angry. He hasn't felt this upset about any of this for at least a couple hundred billion years. "i don't know, I mean really, it's whatever..." He shrugs. "Bill gave me a new home and they all look out for me now, so, you know..."

Kryptos sighs, glancing at the human. he looked distressed. a little afraid. Well, he should be afraid. Kryptos could consume him without any effort at all.

That thought is much less satisfying than it should be. In fact, Kryptos feels kind of the opposite about it, and his outburst in general...

He looks away. "uh...well..um..." he searches the bowl and locates a gummy that hadn't been thrown from it. "do you want more Time Gummies?"

“Uh… Do you… Mind if I have more?” Ford leans forward, eager to take the creature’s mind off the subject.

Kryptos shrugs and offers the gummy to him.

There's some temptation to vent about this topic, now that it's brought up. But there's also plenty of reasons to avoid it for another few billion years.

But, then again, it's not like there's anyone else to talk to about it to. Kryptos gives into temptation. "I don't actually know how I feel about Bill destroying my world, Ford." he says suddenly. "But it's kind of too late to care about it now." He pops a Time Chip into his mouth. "Pywonica doesn weally understanth." he says while he chews. "Sthe wasn thewe." He swallows the chip. "Hectorgon knows, but he doesn't really know. He could have had it pretty good in the 2nd Dimension if he kept his mouth shut."

Ford chews the gummy thoughtfully. “Interesting… So some of the other fellas came out of the 2nd Dimension too?” He rolls his shoulders in an attempt to unknot the tight muscles.

Kryptos shrugs again. "Jus' me 'n Hector. Oh, and the Polymorphous Shape."

“I’m guessing there was some form of discrimination there?"

Kryptos can't help but scoff. "yeah, just a little bit." He digs out another gummy and rolls it between his fingers. "The more sides you had, the better off you were. Bill was pretty low on the food chain, but he kinda got off easy, or he would have, if, y'know." Kryptos motions to his own eye. "He saw weird things, and said even weirder things. That's why they locked him up. But at least they managed to make him a regular polygon, and an equilateral at that." he shudders. "they moved my angles around so much I don't even know what I began as. They still hurt sometimes." He digs around for another gummy. "I almost passed as a square for a while, but..." he runs his hand over one of his sides. "That didn't last too long."

It's embarrassing to admit, even more so to such a simple life form, but there’s no one else who he could tell. Besides, what would the human do? Tell Bill? it's not like it would be new information to him. Though he'd rather the human not...

Kryptos blanches, realizing his misstep. "D-don't...don't tell Bill I told you about him being an irregular, ok? He'll fucking kill me."

“Irregular…. Fascinating…” Ford muses. “Don’t worry, kid. I won’t tell him.”

Kryptos sighs, relieved. "Bill can get really angry sometimes..." he eyes the chains. "I guess you'd know all about that, though."

“Hah… You could say that.” Ford snorts. “But, hey… Thanks for telling me all that stuff. It’s interesting to a meat bag like me.”

Kryptos shrugs again. "It's not like I have a lot of people to tell. Or that you'll hold any of it against me, right?" he shifts the bowl around. "is there any other snacks you want or-"

He's cut off by a mild, buzzing, burning feeling coursing throughout his body, making him go stiff and drop the snack bowl. He realizes with dawning horror that he can't move. Shit, _shit_  ...

  
He's lifted into the air and turned to face a familiar triangle. "Well, well, well, well, well, you just couldn't _help yourself_ , could ya, Krypster?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: swearing, torture, gore. All the fun stuff. Torture consists of blunt force trauma. Also this chapter includes treating humans like animals/pets, mind games, and references systematized abuses. 
> 
> (( _[Tumblr.](http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/143929802718/moral-compass-ch-3)_ ))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: now with art in the middle of the chapter!

Kryptos lets out a tiny squeak. "Bill! h-hey! Y-you're b-back!..." his eye shifts around. "...I-I th-thought y-you we-were g-going w-with..." He casts a glance at the door.

Bill's tone is cheery, but the look in his eye is frightful. "Oh, I was! I did! It's funny really, because I would have been gone a long 'time,'" he airquotes at this, "but you see, I just ran out of punch! And I figured i'd check on ya, see how you're holding up..." Bill closes his eye and chuckles. "Never thought I'd walk in on something like _this_..."

Kryptos flinches. "I-I..I...I..."

Bill laughs. " _Aye aye aye_ is right! You'd really rather hang out with this..." he motions to the human derisively. "Instead of your pals? Guess you're more of a fucking loser than I thought!"

Kryptos stares at the floor.

Bill chortles. "And to top it off you blatantly disregarded, like, _every single thing I told you not to do_ ! I mean how do you think that makes me _feel_ , man?"

Kryptos really wishes Bill would let him go so he could curl up and hide. It takes a moment for him to realize Bill expects a response. "I...I-I mean...um..." his voice becomes very soft. " _probablyreallynothappyatall_ "

Bill laughs. " _Bingo,_ Krypster!" He lets the diamond drop suddenly. Kryptos lets out a little yelp as he falls to the floor. He furls into a shaking little ball.

Bill sighs, floating closer to Kryptos. "Ah, don't take it too hard, Krypster! I'm not mad at ya!"

Kryptos looks up. "Y-y...you're _not_?"

Bill laughs. "Of course not, I mean, why _would_ I be?" He shrugs. "So you fed the human, big deal! I mean you lied to me too, I guess that was kind of a dick move! and you, like, completely disobeyed me, but you know, _no big_ , right?"

Kryptos says nothing, not sure where this is going.  

Bill keeps laughing. "But it's all good, I mean, after all, it's not like you're, y'know, one of those _humans_ !" He wraps his arm around Kryptos. "I mean, you're a guest here! You're one of _us_! So if you wanna take some liberties here and there, I guess I can let it slide sometimes!"

Kryptos gives a nervous chuckle. "I, uh...guess?"

Bill giggles. "Yeah! You know, if this is your idea of fun, I'm not gonna stop ya, right?" He gives the diamond a little poke. "Different strokes, you know?"

Kryptos forces another laugh. "O-ok..."

Bill shrugs. "Anyway, it's not like it was your fault! Those humans can be pre- _tty_ conniving little beasts! They can really fool ya into thinking of them as people sometimes!" He shrugs. "I mean, they're amusing, on occasion, but if you don't teach them _their place_ " he chuckles. "Well, I mean they'll take ya for everything you've got!"

Kryptos doesn't like the direction this is headed. "Oh I don't know...I-it just seemed kinda..."

"Cute? yeah, they do that I guess! Little scoundrels!" He releases Kryptos and makes his way over to Ford. "I mean, lookit him! All pathetic and sad! 'oh help me, Krypster, I haven't eaten in 10 days, boohoo'!" he digs his finger into the human's cheek and pushes it around a little. "What a deceptive _little shit_ " he grabs a handful of the creature's hair.

 

 

_(art by the lovely[Cirilee](http://cirilee.tumblr.com/post/144445745442/mooseings-commissioned-me-to-illustrate-a-scene)) _

 

"Argh!” Ford cries out, heat pricking his eyes. “You know very well humans can't survive without food! Kryptos is doing you a favour!" He snaps, trying to shake Bill's spindly fingers off him. "Let me _go_!"

Bill laughs. "Oh, Sixer, the fact that you think that is hilarious!" He gives the man's hair a sharp yank.

Kryptos winces in the background. That doesn’t look pleasant.

Bill continues, chuckling. "Remember how I disemboweled you repeatedly and you didn't stay dead? Remember that?" He leans in nice and close. "Even if you died from starvation, i'd just bring you back!" He pats him on the cheek. "Eating is a privilege, not a right!~ Especially for impertinent little humans who won't _do as they're fucking told_!" He laughs, releasing the man's hair.

He grabs him around the torso and begins crushing him. "You know, I really, really, really _hate it._ " His fingers sharpen, and he digs them in to punctuate his words "When people don't _do as they're fucking told_ , you know?" He glances at Kryptos. The diamond cringes, backing away a couple of yards.

“Bill…. Please…” Ford wheezes, the chains holding him in place. “Stop…” He can feel his ribs starting to give, any moment and they’ll be crushed… He can’t breathe. Sharp fingers dig through his skin, blood begins to slide down his sides.

Kryptos doesn't know much about humans or how their bodies work, but he can tell the creature is in a lot of pain.

He grimaces, trying to look away. This was a lot funnier before he figured out what human distress looked like...or maybe before it mattered to him...before he started talking to that human...god he's such an idiot...he should have just watched his friends light stuff on fire...he shoulda never messed around with the stupid little skinjob...

He feels the familiar sensation of Bill's telekinetic hold wash over him. "hey hey, Krpyster! Don't run off! Don't you wanna stick around? Enjoy the show?"  

Kryptos stutters. "Th-that's ok B-bill...I-I th-think I-i'm g-gonna g-g-go...f-f-find Pyr-r-ronica a-and..."

Bill laughs, pulling Kryptos in close and setting him down near himself and the human. "C'mon! Have a seat! Relax! Spend a little time with your old pal, Bill!" There's a dangerous glint in his eye. "I _insist_!"

Kryptos forces a smile. "O-ok...s-sure thing..."

He glances at the human...Ford...He should have never asked his name... He tries to keep the shaking in his body to a minimum.

BIll turns back to his prisoner. "Hey, Krypster! Ever wonder what happens to a meatbag when you squeeze em _really hard._ " He laughs, constricting his grip tighter and tighter.

Ford looks helplessly at Kryptos before—

_SNAP_

The shearing pain that rends through his chest tells him that every rib in his body has definitely broken.

He howls in pain, going limp in Bill’s grip.

“Please… Stop…” He whimpers.

Kryptos wraps his arms around himself as far as they'll go. He meets the human's terrified gaze for a moment and quickly looks away. Some terrible little emotion he forgot he was capable of feeling rises inside of him.

Bill snaps his fingers. "Hey, eye over here, Krypster! The show’s just getting started, pal!”

Kryptos winces and forces himself to watch the events unfolding before him.

Bill turns his attention back to his captive. He laughs at the creature's pathetic attempts to appeal for mercy. Didn't lil ol' Fordsy know he didn't have any to give?

"Go on, Sixer, _beg_!" He wraps his other hands around one of the human's leg and gives it the same treatment.

“ _Fuck_!” Ford cries out as his leg snaps like a twig under Bill’s grip.

“Stop it, Bill… Please! _Please_! Stop!” The words come out as a choked sob. His vision blurs, his body breaking out in cold sweats. The shock is setting in.

Kryptos flinches at the sound of something in the human's body fracturing. It isn't unlike the sound of an angle being snapped off. He tries not to think about that.

He really, really wishes he'd never talked to the human at all, because hearing him vocalize in tones of curiosity and excitement and quiet bitterness made these panicked, agonized cries sound woefully unnatural and all the more horrid. The pleas for compassion are so desperate, so futile, they felt physically painful to listen to.

Bill just chortles, releasing the human's leg and torso and grabbing both of his arms. "Speak up Fordsy! I can't hear you!~" He crushes them in one swift, brutal motion.

Ford howls and sobs, dangling limply. “Fuck… Oh fuck…. _Come on, Ford…. Come on… You can do this… Pain… Pain is … just in your head_.” He coaches himself through a vague wisp of consciousness and unbearable agony.

Kryptos berates himself. _Stupid, stupid..did you really think Bill wouldn't find out? That he'd be ok with this? You're an idiot and now that poor little meat creature is paying for it...why couldn't you just go hang out with your friends, huh? Why did you have to go and do something this fucking stupid..._

"B-bill...?" he whispers. "I th-think i-it's uh... i-it's l-l-learned its l-lesson..."

Ford shakes his head at Kryptos’ attempt… It was no use.

Bill turns to the diamond. Kryptos has seen that look before. You never want to be on the receiving end of it.

Then Bill laughs. It's not sadistic, it's cheery. Friendly, even. "Ohoho, I see how it is!" He floats over to Kryptos, patting his arm. Bill's hands are covered in the red fluid that's inside humans (and really oughta stay that way, in Kryptos' opinion) and some of it gets on the diamond. He resists the urge to pull away.

"Y-you...d-do?" Kryptos' voice is so very small.

"Well, duh!" He gives him a playful punch to the shoulder. "You sly bastard! You want a turn, right?"

Kryptos blanches. "Uh...." he gulps. "Um..."  

Bill laughs. "I mean… That's gotta be the reason, right?" He giggles, motioning irreverently. "because, the only other reason i can think of...well i mean..." He gives Kryptos a look, and the diamond shudders. "You're actually _fond_ of the human, right? Like, you'd actually feel some sort of...whatever that thing is that humans feels for each other? It's, heh heh...it's like that thing humans experience because chemicals in their fatty little brains want them to group together to avoid predators and copulate and stuff? That thing they use to keep from dying alone? _that thing_?” He snaps his fingers wildly, looking off into space.

“Sympery...symphony..."

"Sympathy?" Kryptos offers, and curses himself for it.

"Yeah, that!" Bill chortles. "Oh my god, Kryptos...you...and...Sixer...feeling..." He bursts into a fit of frenzied laughter.  "THAT WOULD BE TOO MUCH!"

Kryptos laughs along, stilted and terrified. "Yeah...yeah th-th-that...that w-would b-be s-stupid..."

Bill wipes away a tear. "HA, stupid would be putting it mildly, my Polygonic Pal!"

He gives Kryptos a slap on the back before returning to the captive human. “Just lemme finish up here and you can have a go at 'im!"

Kryptos shivers. Oh god...watching is bad enough...

Bill reaches over and tilts the human's head towards him. "Night, Fordsy! See you when you wake up!~"

And with that, he wrings the human's body until it collapses in his hands.

Bill giggles, giving the corpse a little poke. "Hehe, he's almost cuter like this! Lookit his limp little body!"

Kryptos stares blankly at the scene. He knows humans are pretty much just bags of weird goo and skin but...the creature had been so alive before. Now he’s literally just meat and a lot of red liquid, dangling from a couple of chains.

Kryptos finds he can't summon the energy to feel anything. He sits there, completely numb.

The last time he felt like this was when he watched Bill burn his dimension, except now he didn't even have the cold hatred or the simmering rage or the quiet, inculpable feeling of _serves you right_ to accompany him. Just a strange, emotionless daze.

BIll finally gets bored of prodding a lifeless cadaver and snaps his fingers, knitting the human back together cell by cell.

Kryptos swallows. In a way, he's next.

Ford slowly comes to, his whole body tingling with pins and needles. That was bad. Really bad. And from the eager look on Bill’s face it’s only going to get worse.

“Bill….” He murmurs. “I’m begging you. Please don’t do that again… _Please_.”

Yes. He’s begging now. But after being brought back to life for what seemed like the tenth time (he’d lost count), it doesn’t seem like there was much else to do…

“I’ll…I’ll never ask for food from one of your pals again, okay? Y-you can just leave me to starve in the penthouse or something…Just please… Please don’t do that again.”

Kryptos begins to shake.

Bill laughs. "Well ya wore me down, Fordsy! I won't be doing that again! Well, for now anyway!"

Ford breathes a sigh of relief. “There’s no need for this, Bill. You’re not going to get the equation from me if you fry my brains over and over…”

Bill throws his arm around Kryptos. "That's why my good buddy, Krypster here is gonna continue the fun!" He gives the trembling diamond a shove in the captive's direction.

Bill puts his hands under his eye, contemplating. "Lettt's seeeee...What kind of horrible agony is Fordsy in for today!" He twirls his fingers and summons a cabinet of medieval torture devices. "We could go the classic route..." He summons another cabinet of torture devices from other dimensions and planets. "Or try something a bit more exotic..." He summons yet another cabinet full of nothing but banjos. "Or go with something sorta new wave..."

Ford’s heart starts thundering, each device looks more painful than the next. His gaze settles on one of the cabinets and his brow furrows, confused.

"B-Banjos?" Ford chuckles nervously. "What would they do?"

Kryptos tries to signal to Ford not to give Bill any ideas, but Bill is already levitating one of the banjos.

"Oh you have no idea, do you Fordsy?" He strums it idly. It sounds like a dying hen. "You know, I wasn't too keen on hearing this little puppy sing at all hours of the day back when you were rooming with Glasses, haha!" He snickers. "I guess he got his in the end, though!"

Ford bristles. "Fiddleford saw right through you from the very beginning! At least he had the sense to torture you when he could." He growls.

_Oh Fiddleford... Where are you now? What a fool I was!_

Bill laughs. "No argument there, IQ~ Too bad you were too stupid to question a single thing i did! Or to figure out how the hillbilly really felt about you!" He plays with the instrument until a string breaks.

"How he....? Ugh. Of course." Ford mutters to himself. "Stupid..." _He will survive this. He'll live to see Fidds and say he's sorry for being such a gullible fool._

"But anyhow…” Bill continues. “I hope you'll forgive me for _stringing you along..._ " He turns the banjo over and grips the neck of it like a baseball bat. He practice swings once, twice, and then brings it down on his captive's ribs. "I've just _banjo-nesing_ to get this out of my system!"

The banjo cracks against Ford’s newly formed ribs and he wheezes, doubling over as far as the chains would allow.

"Untie me..." Ford coughs, spitting a globule of blood at his captor. "Untie me you... Worthless coward! You can't even take me on... Without chaining me up."

Bill laughs. "oh yeaaahhh, I'm sure it'd be a really fair fight if freed you!" He giggles. "But I'm not in the habit of _letting people down_ , Sixer!" He shakes the instrument, aiming again. " _Baaatttterrr uuupppp!_ " The banjo becomes fast acquainted with a knee cap.

Kryptos watches from behind Bill, grimacing. He considers sneaking away, but he's almost certain that would bring an even worse punishment down on his head...

“Let me go! You insane… Equilater— ARGH!”

Ford feels his kneecap give under the makeshift weapon. He feels a wave of nausea and pain.

“Stop this! You’ve… you’ve made your fucking _point_!”

Bill cackles. “And what point would _that be_ , Fordsy?" He brings the instrument down on Ford's other kneecap. "I've heard this has the _cap_ -acity to be really painful, but I feel the _knee-d_ for a first-hand account, so do me a favor and rate the agony, on a scale of one to six!"

Kryptos draws his gaze to the floor and keeps it there. He can't run away, but maybe if Bill is preoccupied he won't make him watch, let alone participate...

Ford's knees buckle under the blow.

"STOP IT! I WON'T PLAY YOUR GAMES YOU STUPID IRREGULAR- "

Ford cuts off, terror flooding him. Oh shit... Slip of the tongue.

Bill freezes mid-swing.

He lowers the make-shift weapon very slowly, looking the human in the eye. "What did you just call me." His voice is flat and cold and above all, unnaturally quiet.  

Kryptos' entire body goes stiff. his eye fixes on the scene in widened, silent terror.

Ford's heart stops for a moment.

"N-nothing... I said nothing!" He yelps, quickly averting his gaze.

Bill stares, his eye wide and dead and unblinking. "Really." He leans in closer, until his eye is centimeters away from his captive's face. There's a shivering, buzzing cold energy emanating from his entire form. " _Reeaally..._ " The gaze flickers and drags slowly over to Kryptos. The diamond cringes like he's been struck. Bill's gazes shudders and inches back to the human.

Bill backs up. A chuckle begins, low and grating and raw. it rises slowly in pitch and volume, from an echoing howl to a shrill cackle, until it's climbed to a ghoulish shriek.

Kryptos backs away instinctively. He's never really seen Bill quite this frenzied, and it's a truly nightmarish sight to behold. Before he can move another meter, his entire body is suddenly consumed with a powerful red glow that feels like it's burning him alive. He screeches as he's dragged back towards the scene and slammed unceremoniously into one of the cabinets.

Bill's laughter simply continues, echoing from the room as though it's a living thing that's divorced itself from its creator.  
  
"AH SIXER YOU REALLY _C R A C K  M E  U P_ S O M E T I M E S"

And with that, he raises the instrument and begins turning every bone in his captive's body into powder, one by one.

Ford’s limbs twist into awkward angles, bone punctures through skin. It isn’t long before, mercifully, a blow on the head strikes him unconscious and he dangles limp in the chains.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rrc: TONIGHT ON: DEATH! BY!! BANJO!!! *crowd goes wild*


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: More torture (of the stabbing and blunt force trauma sort), gore, treating humans like animals/pets, and swearing and such.
> 
> (( _[Tumblr.](http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/144440981088/moral-compass-ch-4)_ ))

Bill breathes raggedly, the instrument in his hands little more than splintered wood and twisted metal. He throws it aside.

Kryptos picks himself up from the floor. He wobbles, limbs weak, dazed. Bill snaps his fingers and he's suspended into the air again, the burning pain returning. He's turned to face that horrible mangled thing that used to be Ford.

"LOOK AT HIM KRYPSTER! ALL SKIN AND BONES AND  _BLOOD_ , THAT'S ALL HUMANS ARE! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE PUTREFYING FLESH!"

Kryptos chokes down a pathetic cry. He tries to speak, but no words come out.

Bill turns to him, a cold look in his eye. Kryptos feels like he's being disassembled into a million little particles under that gaze.

"There's no sense getting worked up about them, you know?" He hovers a little closer. "There's no sense in falling to pieces over them. They're just _sacks of meat_ ! _"_

Kryptos manages to stutter out. "y-y-y-yo-ou'r-re r-r-right-t B-b-bill..." His voice fades into a barely audible whisper. " _You're right…_  "

Bill laughs. "I can see how it'd be tempting to see them like real sentient beings! I guess they might seem like it...from a certain _angle_ , haha!"

Kryptos' thoughts come to a grinding halt. Oh god, he knows...of course he knows, but...

Kryptos shudders. He's in for it now. He can't believe he was ever this fucking _stupid_...

Bill shrugs. "Anyhow, I guess we better get back to havin' some _fun_ , y'know?"

Kryptos rasps. "Y-y-y-yeah..."

Bill turns and snaps his fingers. Ford's bones come together in uncomfortable, stilted, jerking movements like a deranged stop motion puppet. Bill starts by repairing the injury on his head, presumably so he's conscious throughout the reassembly this time.

Ford wakes with a ragged gasp. Every cell in his body is screaming in agony.

Bone, muscle, sinew, skin all knit back together; organs slick back into their cavities, limbs twist back into the original positions.

It's hideous, sickening and fascinating all at once. But it only makes it hurt more. Ford bites his tongue to stop himself screaming and squeezes his eyes shut, refusing to watch. He focuses on the metallic taste in his mouth and the throb on his tongue.

Kryptos shudders. It was almost better watching Bill tear him apart somehow.

"Sooooo, how are you feelin', IQ?" Bill giggles. "Want me to break off your foot and stick it back in your mouth?~"

“Ugh….” Ford grunts, averting his gaze and keeping his mouth shut. Maybe he should have done that before…

“THERE YOU ARE!” A shriek sounds out across the Fearamid. Pyronica leads the gang of Henchmaniacs into the expansive room, fangs bared in a gleeful grin. “We were wondering where you went, Bill! You missed the human barbeque!” She turns to Hectorgon.

“So there we were, burning down the town. This one human comes rushing out at us so I set it on fire. Oh my gosh, ya shoulda seen it! It ran around _screaming_  for aaages like ‘aaahh oh no I’m on fire!’ And then it just plopped to the ground ready to eat! Was delicious, right guys?”

The Henchmaniacs roar in approval.

The demoness flounces forward, peering curiously at the human chained to the wall. She lights up.

“Ooooh! You’re playing with the human? Can I have a turn?”

Kryptos glances at his friends, hope welling within him. Pyronica and Hectorgon always help him figure out how to turn away Bill's wrath.

"P-p-pyr-ronica! H-h-hect-tor-rgon! H-h...."

Bill snaps his fingers, a steel plate bolting itself over Kryptos' mouth. "Ah, there you guys are!" He cackles. "I was worried you'd all miss out on the fun!" He turns to Pyronica and laughs. "Kryptos wasn't feeling in the 'party spirit', so I was just showing him some of the fun things I like to do with the human!"

He floats over to the lot of them, motioning with excitement. "But now that you're all here, the fun can _really_   begin!"

She tilt their head to the side at Kryptos’ reaction, waving cheerily at him. “You missed out on some rad times, buddy!” She hisses. “I think I burnt down half the town!!” She giggles with delight.

Ford’s eyes snap open. “You DID _WHAT_  ?” He roars, rattling his chains furiously. “How dare you! THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN!”

Kryptos tries to speak or motion at them, but it's no use. He's trapped.

Bill laughs. "Nice one, Nikki! Sorry I missed the rest of it!" He rolls his eye at the human and scoffs. "Try to contain yourself, Sixer! Don't make me  _muzzle_  you too!"

“You … YOU!” The town! The people! He’s so caught up in his own peril that he totally forgot about it all!

Rage boils, hot and heavy and burning away any smart idea like keeping his mouth shut.

“I’ll! I’LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES YOU MISSHAPEN SCRAP!!!!” He screams, struggling madly against the chains.

A feral snarl escapes from Bill.

Kryptos watches from the background, trembling.

Pyronica snorts. “Watch out, Bill! Your little pet might bite you!” She crows and the rest of the crew laughs.

Bill suddenly laughs, summoning several hands and poking and prodding Ford playfully. One flips his hair, another takes ahold of his face, squishing his cheeks. "Aw, he acts all tough, but his bark is _far_  worse than his bite!" He shrugs. "Me, on the other hand...or _hands_ , rather..." The hands grow claws and begin tearing in the man, very slowly. "Well let's just say you wouldn't wanna _test_  me, ain't that right, Fordsy?"

Ford hisses between clenched teeth but offers nothing more.

Bill glances at the diamond suspended behind him. "Krypster?"

Kryptos flinches away from Bill's gaze. He glances at Pyronica, hoping his pleading look will tip her off to the trouble he's in. It's a bit of a long shot. She's not particularly good at taking a hint, no matter the circumstances.

"Hey, Krypy! Come here and join us!" Pyronica calls out, beckoning towards her and Hectorgon.

Bill laughs. "Yeah, Krypster! Why don't ya come   _join the fun_!" He snaps his fingers. The diamond falls to the ground, the metal plate disappearing from his mouth.

Kryptos is still shaking, but he manages to get to his feet. Well...there's no escape from whatever his fate may be now...everyone's watching...

He looks back at his friends. They all of seem eager to have him participate in whatever pain they plan on putting the human through. He inhales, remembers how to levitate himself, and floats over to join them.

He's stopped mid-journey by Bill's telekinesis again. "Ah ah, not so fast, Krypster!"

 _Shit_  

Bill picks him up and sets him down next to the human. He waves his hand, repositioning the cabinets and their contents. "I think you oughta get first go at the little beast! It might help you get into the spirit!"

_Shit, shit..._

They'll all be watching. he can't mess this up...not even a little...they'll all know the truth...

Bill's claws are still digging into Ford's skin, deeper and deeper until he's full of bleeding holes. They stop abruptly, and with a snapping of fingers, the human's body is as good as new again.

Bill's hands retreat into his form. He motions towards the cabinets idly. "Your pick buddy! Whatever tickles your fancy!"

Kryptos wrings his hands, looking nervously from the cabinets, to his friends, to Bill, and finally to the human. He's trembling again.

“Aww! I wanna play with the human!” Pyronica pouts. The rest of the gang looks disappointed too.

Ford is panting heavily from the mistreatment, trembling as his skin and blood return. He looks at Kryptos with dread. Maybe they could just get it over with to satisfy Bill….

And this time he’s not going to say a word.  _Not a single damn word._

Bill floats over to Pyronica, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Rellaaax, Nikki! You'll get a turn!" He leaps up and spreads his arms wide towards the rest of them. "You'll  _all_  get a turn! A lot of turns! We do have literally all of eternity, after all!"

He motions to Kryptos. "Ol' Krypster here just needs a little 'encouragement', right now is all!"

His gaze swings back to the diamond. " _Isn't that right_?"

Kryptos jumps, running into the cabinet and making a few banjos fall out of their place. "Y-Y-yeah Bill..."

Bill giggles at him. "Don't take too long choosing there, pal! We all want a go at the little meatbag!"

"Yeah, Kryptos!" Keyhole shouts. "Hurry up and pick something already!"

Kryptos cringes. He looks at all the cabinets, eyeing the horrible contraptions lining their shelves. None of them seem particularly pleasant, nor quick...Maybe that's a good thing though; too quick and BIll might make him do this more than once...

He spies a large, technicolored, rectangular object from some dimension he doesn't recognize. He takes it in his hands. It's heavier than he thought it would be, and it nearly drags him to the floor. He grunts, trying to lift it, when he accidentally presses a button. It whirrs and clicks, sharp objects blooming from it like a deadly flower. He squeaks and drops it.

Ford flinches involuntarily at the loud clang. He’s getting jumpier by the second; every sound seems to designate some form of pain or distress. _A conditioned fear response_ , a detached part of his brain supplies, rather unhelpfully.

“WOAH! What the hell is that doohicky?” Pyronica cries out, eying the fallen object with interest.

Bill shrugs and laughs. "Just a little beauty from Dimension C-226, aka the realm of eternal horrific agony, corn nibblets, and dead weathermen!”

“Come on, Kryptos! Hit it with something! HIT IT! HIT IT! HIT IT!” Pyronica starts a feverous chant, with stomping and shouting.

“HIT THE PET! HIT THE PET! HIT THE PET!”

Kryptos sweats as the chanting begins. He searches the cabinets desperately, looking for something, anything that he might just be able to pick up. He eventually finds a stick-like object in one of the cabinets.

He grips it a little too tight, hands still shaking, and turns to the human.

He stares at the captive creature, trying not to think about talking to him only...an hour ago? A few minutes? Probably not, since time is dead now. He also tries not to recall the horrible mess of a damaged meat body he witnessed not long after...

Kryptos begins trembling violently. He tries desperately to reclaim his nerve.

Ford squeezes his eyes shut. “Just do it, kid.” He mutters through his teeth. “Get it over with.”

“HIT IT, KRYPTOS! SHOW IT WHO’S BOSS!” Pyronica crows, punching her clawed fist into the air.

Kryptos opens his mouth, then closes it again. He can't seem to lift the weapon an inch.

"Whatsamatter, Krypster?" Kryptos jumps at the sound of Bill's voice directly beside him, nearly dropping the weapon. Bill eyes him with what can only be described as a mouthless smirk. "Not sure where to start?" He laughs and pulls Kryptos into another sideways embrace. "Stay away from the top bit with the eyes! That'll kill him too fast!" He motions to the human's arms and legs. "now those appendages, they’re are pretty durable! Not likely to kill him outright!" He leans in and whispers. " _But I'd go for the middle part if I were you! The little bones that protect their innards are_  reeeaally _sensitive!_ "

Kryptos forces a smile. "O-ok.."

Bill gives him a bit of a squeeze. It's just a _little_  too tight. "Just keep it nice and simple for now! We have _so much more fun_  we'll be getting to after this! Wouldn't wanna spoil that!" He releases him, patting him on the arm. "Just don't think too much! That's definitely your forte anyhow, _right_  ?"

The double meaning is not lost on Kryptos. He inhales with a shudder.

Bill backs up a little. "Just do it, Krypster! Go on, do it!"

"DO IT KRYPTOS!" Yells Hectorgon.

Another chant begins. "DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"

Kryptos lifts the weapon slowly. He closes his eye and brings it down on the human's side.

Ford gasps, spittle and blood flying from his lips as the blow knocks him sideways.

“WOOO!! GO KRYPTOS!” Pyronica cheers, bouncing up and down gleefully not unlike a cheerleader.

“WOW KRYPTOS, NICE!" Keyhole yells.

"WHO KNEW HE HAD IT IN HIM?" Hectorgon laughs.

Kryptos opens his eye. It didn't seem so bad yet. he glances at Bill. He looks impatient. And like he's planning something. Like he knows a secret no one else does.

Kryptos gulps and tries to put that out of his mind. He closes his eye and hits the human a couple more times.

Ford grits his teeth hard together, refusing to make a sound. He won’t give Bill that satisfaction. Blood drips down his chin.

“HIT IT HARDER!” Pyronica crows, spurred on by her buddies.

Kryptos doesn't even open his eye as he continues bringing the metal weapon down on the meat creature's body, over and over and over....

His friends chant in the background. He doesn't hear Bill amongst them, but he knows he's watching. Waiting for the smallest slip up.

Ford can’t help it, he cries out as his ribs shatter once more. He tastes metal and spits it out onto the ground. His legs twitch and spasm under each blow.

“Stop…” He croaks. “Please.”

Kryptos tries to ignore the human's pleas. Tries not to think about what he's doing or who he's doing it to.

He's not sure why he's having such a problem with this. It's just a flesh being. A limited little flesh being. it's barely even sentient.

He opens his eye. It's a mistake. The human looks so pathetic, so desperate to make the pain stop.

Kryptos avoids the human's gaze as he brings the weapon down on his leg.

The blow is soft, barely enough to bruise. Ford looks up at Kryptos quizzically, breathing heavily.

“Aww! Come on, Krypty! If you’re not gonna do it properly let me do it!” Pyronica jeers.

Bill laughs suddenly. "yeah Krypster..." He gives him a terrifying look. " _Do it properly!_ " Kryptos shudders, but the weapon remains static in his grip.

"C'mon, you were doing so well!" Teeth laments.    

"You can do better than that, Kryptos!" Hectorgon chimes in.

Kryptos' gaze darts around, from his victim to his friends to Bill, and then to the floor. When did he get so _weak_?

Ford can’t help but allow a small choked sob of relief, refusing to look at Bill. Refusing to look at anywhere else but the floor.

“Please…. No more… Bill… Please take me back to the penthouse… Please…” He whimpers. He just wants to be away from prying eyes. He almost misses the growly couch made of skin that Bill let him catch a few minutes of sleep on…

Kryptos would love nothing more than what the human is suggesting. He highly doubts Bill will grant the request, however. They insulted him, multiple times, once in one of the worst ways possible. He himself would be hard-pressed to forgive someone for calling him...that...

Kryptos hears something blazing and feels an overwhelming sense of malevolence. He looks up to see Bill, glowing a bright crimson, his eye bulging.

"DID I SAY YOU COULD STOP, KRYPSTER? KEEP  _GOING_  "

Kryptos flinches. He tries not to think about the whimpering, crying human who's begging for mercy. The human who listened to his problems and munched on Time Gummies. He tries to focus on the one who got him into this mess in the first place. The one who took the information Kryptos trusted him with and wielded it to both their detriment. The one who betrayed him.

Kryptos finds some amount of anger building in him and he manages to strike the creature another couple of times.

“Bill! Please! I’m- ARGH!”

“GET IT IN THE FACE! GET IT IN THE FACE!” Pyronica’s started a fresh chant now.

Kryptos takes Pyronica's advice and brings the metal bar down on the human's face. He hopes it kills him...and that Bill won't revive him for another round if it does.

It smacks him squarely in the front of the skull, cracking it and knocking him into blackness again. Unconscious. Finally.

“WOO! YOU KILLED IT!” Pyronica cheers, clapping loudly. “GO KRYPY!”

Kryptos glances back at his friends. They all seem pleased with this development. Maybe it all worked out...

He glances at Bill. He's no longer that furious red. Something about his manner is more predatory than happy, though.

"Well, well, well! I knew you could do it, Krypster!" Bill floats down to the human, propping up his drooping head. It flops down again, blood dripping all over Bill's finger. He giggles. "Now now...I didn't say you could take a nap, Fordsy!" He snaps his fingers, the wounds repairing themselves once more. "WAKE UP OLD MAN!"

Ford comes to with a scream, as though waking up from a nightmare. Well. His reality is a living nightmare so what’s even the difference?

He glowers at Bill but doesn’t say a word. Just shoots daggers at him with his eyes and casts a venomous look at Kryptos too. He knows the kid had no choice but he also knows he has to stop thinking he has friends here.

Kryptos catches the glare from the human. He feels a tinge of... _guilt_  of all things...

He scowls back at him, crushing down that feeling. It was the human's own fault. For all of this. for insulting Bill, for getting himself mixed up with that demonic triangle, for even causing the rift between dimensions, effectively allowing Bill to end the human’s own. Kryptos had no hand in any of that, it was just that human and Bill...

A brief thought nagging in his mind whispers that running with Bill is about as good as helping him. He chases it away.

Besides, it's not like he could tell Bill _no_...or that either of their punishments were likely over. Kryptos forces himself to become cold and steely, if only to not fully feel the fear threatening at the thought of what Bill still has in store for him. He won't make the mistake of caring about this fragile meatsack twice. If he makes it out of this alive, he won't so much as glance in that pathetic human's direction ever again.

Kryptos' body is filled with a sudden searing hot pain. A halo of red light envelopes him.

 _Shit, shit.._. What did he do? Did he do something wrong?...Or is it finally his turn for real?  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: swearing, mind games, humiliation, flashbacks to emotional abuse, violence, condescending monologues.
> 
> (( _[Tumblr.](http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/144644852498/moral-compass-ch-5)_ ))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rrc: sooo we ended up splitting this chapter into two, just a heads up! But yeah, torture to come in the next chapter. 8)
> 
> moose: (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

Kryptos gulps, closing his eye, trying to get rid of the tremble in his body.

He opens his eye and shoots one last pleading look at Pyronica and Hectorgon.

Hectorgon stares back with an unreadable expression. He tosses a glance towards Pyronica and mutters something to her. Kryptos can't make out what it is over the hum of Bill's telekinesis.

he's pulled back towards Bill with a shocking amount of force, enough to give him vertigo.

Bill's eye is fixed on Kryptos. There's something icy in his gaze, even with an expression of cheer plastered across his visage. "Well, well, well," he says, clapping mockingly. "Didn't know you had it in yah, Krypster!" his eye splits, just a little, just for a moment. Bill's crooked, jagged teeth peek out. Kryptos shudders, trying and failing to smother a whimper. "Not bad, _pal_ , not bad, not bad..."

Hectorgon leans over and whispers. " _Pyronica..._ " he clutches his glass a little too tightly as he speaks. " _Pyronica, I think Kryptos is in trouble..._ "

He's seen Bill this mad before, but it's been few and far between. Once in prison. Once when he was annihilating their home dimension. Once over the human. The goddamned human... Nothing good comes of it, not for Bill, not for anyone stupid enough to be nearby when it's happening.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid Kryptos...he never_ listens...

Pyronica returns the look. She knows her Billy has a nasty temper on him. And that Kryptos often is at the receiving end on it most times. But it’s usually funny! They all have a laugh, Kryptos gets reassembled, no harm done.

There’s something different about this time, if Kryptos’ pleading gaze is any indication.

“I’ll see what I can do.” She mutters at Hector, taking a few steps forward.

“Hey, Bill! Why don’t you put the nerd down, huh? Let’s go burn some more houses, wouldn’t you like that? Hmm?”

She floats tentatively above the ground to Bill’s eye level, giving him a grin.

“C’mon man, like old times!”

Bill waves idly towards Pyronica, as if shooing her. "Not now, Roni," he eyes Kryptos almost hungrily. "I'm _busy_..."

Pyronica pouts, giving a disgruntled little huff before slowly floating back down. She touches down lightly next to Hector, giving him a shrug.

There was nothing she could do for Kryptos. She’s never seen Bill so incensed… Not in a very long time at least…

Bill claps his hands, rubbing them together. "Now, now, what shall we do to dear ol' Krypster, here?" He chuckles. "What might befit such a traitor?" He leans closer, making Kryptos flinch again. "Because that's what you are, Kryptos," He's practically spitting the words now. "a fucking-goddamned-no-good-piece-of-fucking-shit _TRAITOR_!"

Bill composes himself, giving a giddy little giggle. "And if there's one thing I can't _stand_ , it's a backstabber, you know?" he cracks his knuckles, stretching. " _Sooo_ , what might we do about this treasonous act, hrm? How do you think a traitor ought to be rewarded, huh? Krypster?"

Kryptos tries to speak, but all that comes out is a whimper and stuttering, slurring nonsense. "I-I-I-I...I m-me-ean-n I...d-d-di-i-dn-n't-t..I...I...I...w-w-w-wo-o-ould-d-d-dn-n-n't-t-t...I..I..." He finally manages to whisper, in a hoarse tone. " _ididn'tmeanto_ "

"DOES THAT REALLY _MATTER_ ? YOU THINK?" Bill shrieks. "DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT _FUCKING_ GODDAMNED _MATTERS_ TO ME? HUH? FUCKING _DO YOU_ ? USE WHATEVER PASSES FOR A FUCKING BRAIN IN THAT FUCKING PATHETIC LITTLE BODY OF YOURS AND _THINK_ FOR _ONCE_ IN YOUR GODDAMNED _LIFE_ , KRYPTOS!"

Kryptos' entire body trembles madly. Not being able to move enough to protect himself is agonizing. He closes his eye. " _n_ _-n-n-no-o..._ " He murmurs.

" _WHAT WAS THAT_ ?" Bill says. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER YOUR GODDAMNED _COWERING,_ KRYPSTER! SPEAK THE FUCK UP!"

" _No_ , nononono..." Kryptos says, latching onto the one syllable he can manage to say like an incantation. "nonoi-i-it...it d-d-do-o-es-s-n't m-m-ma-a-tt-t-er-r..."

" _CORRECT_ ! FOR ONCE!" this is followed by more sarcastic clapping. "GIVE THE IDIOT A _PRIZE_!"

Bill drops Kryptos next to Ford, folding his hands behind his back.

Ford flinches back, tucking his legs up to his chest. _This is his fault. This is all his fault. He should never have let that insult slip! What the hell was he thinking?_

He eyes Kryptos warily before hurriedly ducking his head and looking at the ground. He doesn’t want to see this.

Kryptos fights the urge to crawl away. He hugs himself and does what he does best - cowers in a little quivering ball on the floor.

Hectorgon grips his glass so tightly, his hand is shaking. If Pyronica can't distract Bill, there's no saving him now. What the fuck did Kryptos _do_?...

Oh. Oh gods. Hectorgon remembers what the human shouted a little while earlier. He recalls something half-buried in his mind, emotions and beliefs from so long ago, from his time back in Flatland...Things like the angles and shapes of lifeforms had become mostly meaningless now...but old wounds run deep...

And if there's one thing Bill never does, it's _forget_...

Kryptos made himself a target of a trillion-year-old grudge. And for the human to know about...all that...

 _Kryptos, you idiot. You fucking idiot_...

Hectorgon tries to disguise the tremble in his hand, giving Pyronica a weak shrug in return. There's nothing she can do. There's nothing they can do...

Hectorgon takes another drink, finishing off his glass in one go.

Kryptos sees the human looking at him, barely meeting his gaze. He wants to scowl and be angry, he _should_ be angry, he can't believe he was so stupid, stupid, to trust the stupid meatsack, so _stupid_ ...Bill is _right_ ...He _is_ an idiot...

But he can't be angry. He's too scared to be angry. Who know what Bill will do to him if he sees Kryptos _angry_? Not that it matters, because he can't even get his face to express any other emotion except pure terror, with maybe a little pathetic pleading mixed in. He'd accept help from the human if it meant he would be spared from Bill's wrath.

Bill touches down beside Kryptos and he cringes.

he feels Bill's hand on him and he yelps, his shaking increasing tenfold.

But Bill's touch is soft. He pats Kryptos on the shoulder. "There, there, Krypster, no sense in delaying the inevitable, hrm?" He chuckles. "Aw, c'mon, what's with all this shaking, pal? What do you take me for? A monster?"

 _Yes_ . Kryptos thinks before he can stop himself. _No, no_! He corrects his thoughts, remembering that Bill can read his mind.  "N-n-no!" He squeaks, hugging himself tighter.

Bill clucks his tongue. "Really, I'm just gonna do what you did to me, y'know? An eye for an eye and all, you get what I'm sayin'?" His voice is jovial, without a trace of the previous venom to it.

This is a trap. An obvious trap. But if there's even a chance Bill might let him off easy... "R-r-really?" Kryptos says softly.

"Yeah!" Bill shrugs. "Why would I do anything else?"

Kryptos sits up slowly. His shaking subsides just a little. "... _R-really_?"

He bites his lip. This is a trap. this is a trap... "W-w-what do you m-mean by th-that?"

Bill laughs. He snaps his fingers. Kryptos flinches, but Bill only summons a martini. He takes a sip. "We've been friends for a long time, you and I, haven't we Krypster?"

Kryptos is quiet for a moment. "W-well...y-yes. I g-guess we have..."

Bill laughs again. He stares into his glass as he swirls it around. "Yes, a very long time indeed...over a trillion years, in fact! Longer than I've known anyone in this room! Well, excluding the esteemed Hectorgon!" he gestures idly to said henchmanaic, who starts, nearly dropping his glass.

"And while we don't always agree," Bill continues, chuckling. "Man, you do really manage to _piss me off_ sometimes, you know, man? Just..." he inhales sharply. " _Really_..."

He shrugs. "But all in all, we've had some _good times_ together, _right_?"

He stares at Kryptos expectantly. "Right?"

Kryptos snaps out of his frightened daze. "Ah, y-yeah, g-guess we have!" he says a little too quickly.

Bill laughs. "Right-e-o, my Coplanar Compadre!" He takes another drink. "And over the years, you and I, well we've _shared_ certain, eh, _details_ about ourselves, details we'd rather keep _between_ ourselves...you, heh, you know what I'm saying? Know what I mean?"

Kryptos nods. "Y-y-you mean...like...s-secrets?"

"Secrets! yeah! That, heh, that's the word I was looking for! _Thank you_ !" He chortles. "Secrets, secret things...you know, like the thing about the, ahem, nature of my angles prior to   _'adjustment'_ ," he airquotes, his tone bitter as he says that word. It changes instantly back to the light, cheerful tone it had before, though. "Those are the kinds of things friends keep between _friends_ , you know? kind of a _contract_ of sorts, if you really think about it!"

Kryptos nods again, now thoroughly confused, though the growing pit of dread in his chest has yet to dissipate, or even diminish. "Y-Yeah...I-I g-guess..."

Bill laughs, motioning lazily. "I'm just, you know, thinkin' out loud, just supposin' here a little...If you really think about it, _all_ relationships are kind of like contracts! Sort of like arrangements two parties make with each other to benefit themselves...You see where I'm going with this?"

Kryptos does’t. Not really. But he gives a wobbling smile and says, "uh...y-yeah...I mean, s-sorta..."

"Really? Great!" Bill chuckles. "Well, anyway...I'm just sayin' all this because I was hoping you _might_ understand how bloody _frustrating_ it might be to a guy like me, deal affectionado that I am, when a contract gets _broken_ like, well..." he laughs, and it's got a bit of an edge to it. "Like you did when you shared my secret with a _human_ who just happened to be _hanging around_ , you know? You feel me?"

Kryptos grimaces. He's starting to see where this is headed now. "Ah...y-yes...yes I th-think I do..."

Bill takes one more drink, emptying the glass and tossing it aside. It shatters. He ignores it, staring at Kryptos. "And here's _another_ funny little thing about contracts, Krypster, my pal," He approaches Kryptos, his expression growing more and more tense with every step. "They're quite, hrm, _mutual_ , shall we say?" he chuckles. "Seeing as how _you_ have shared some pretty interesting little secrets with me too!" he motions to the human. "Heh, you probably shared them with this loser too, seeing as how you can't seem to shut up about that shit for _five fucking minutes_ , heh!"

Ford starts at the word ‘contract’, his head jerking up. He shrinks under Bill’s gaze. It feels like fire, heat crawls through every cell in his body, curling around his throat until breathing seems completely impossible.

He doesn’t say a word, just throws another worried glance at Kryptos and bows his head once more.

Kryptos blanches. He tries to speak, but only random syllables leave his mouth.

Bill rolls his eye. "You _did_ , fucking Jesus H. fucking Christ on a fucking popsicle stick..." He puts his hand to where his forehead would be if he were humanoid, kneading it, and closing his eye. "That is...heh, _wow_ , that is _pathetic_ , ok, I'm sorry, I just, I had to give myself a minute there, haha, I mean, just, good _fuck_ , Krypster..."

Some of the other henchdemons snicker. They'd all been completely silent throughout this so far, the tension too thick to even think about breaking, but this was the first funny thing Bill had said that wasn't laced with menace. The thought of Kryptos whining to a mortal was too good not to find even a _little_ laughable!

Bill chortles, raising his gaze back to Kryptos. "A lifetime of pathetic and terrible decisions, and you've actually managed to reach a new low! _Congrats_ , Krypster!"

Kryptos furls in on himself a bit. He knows he's pathetic, they don't have to remind him...he almost wishes Bill would get on with the punishment already!

Pyronica gives a weak chuckle with the rest of the gang, but really, there’s nothing about this situation that is funny.

Bill had told her what he had been before he was… Altered. And it had been something he told her in confidence… And in one of their more… Rare moments. Vulnerable and intimate moments. She’d never told another living soul...

This was unforgivable…

“Oh Kryptos…” She mutters, shaking her head. She hasn’t felt so dismal in billions of years.

Hectorgon can't even force a laugh. He didn't realize Kryptos had become so desperate for emotional support. He can be needy, but...

 _Dammit Kryptos..._ He mentally curses him, but he can hardly be truly angry at him. Hectorgon knows he has a part in all this, and that knowledge burns in him, eating him from the inside out. He should have been watching him, he should have kept him away from the human, he shouldn't have let him _get_ this way…

Ford’s chains clink as he flattens himself closer against the wall, spine digging into the brickwork. But the comments send tiny pinpricks of annoyance through him. As if this is something to laugh about!

He can’t help himself. He grits his teeth, jaw tense as he shoots Bill a glare. “He was… only trying to help.” He snarls.

Bill's gaze snaps to Ford. "Help?" He chuckles. "Help _how_ , precisely, Fordsy?"

He approaches Ford, the low, simmering anger evident even in his stance, contrasting sharply with the light, flippant tone of his voice.

Kryptos exhales, just grateful not to be the focus of Bill's fury... he glances at the human, then looks away quickly. He can't get attached. He can't get attached...

Ford’s heart drops to the floor. His skin erupts in goosebumps.

He gulps, hastily pinning his gaze to the floor and shuffling to the side. Anything to get as far away from Bill as possible. His boots squeak against the cold hard floor.

His voice is small, hardly a whisper. “F-Food… I needed…” He trails off. He feels like he’s a child once more, backed into a corner by his red-faced father. A rolled up newspaper in a clenched fist.

_Weak! Failure! Pathetic! Can’t even take a beating! You should be more like your brother!_

Bill burst out laughing. "You needed _food_ ? You needed to _eat_ ? is that what you meant?" His tone is now dripping with mockery. "I thought I made the food situation pretty _FUCKING CLEAR_ Fordsy! _I_ get to decide when you eat and when you don't! You don't _need SHIT_!"

Ford flinches under every word, squeezing his eyes shut as he ducks his head to the side. He just wants to melt through the walls.

“Y-Yes… Yes Bill…. U-understood.” He whimpers.

He can’t get in trouble again… Not again… Got to be good…

_“You’re not listening, Stanford! Look at me! You rotten little coward! You think your brains are going to save you when they’re beaten out of your skull? Toughen up!”_

Kryptos breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe if Bill takes his anger out on the human, he won't be a target anymore...maybe he'll forget all about what Kryptos did...

Kryptos wrings his hands. No...there's no way Bill will forget...Bill _never_ forgets...

He glances at Bill, a faint glow of red beginning to overtake his triangular form. There's no way he won't be angry, either, not after what Kryptos did... Of course...maybe if he takes it out on the human a little more, it will be...less? when he gets to Kryptos? Maybe?

Even Kryptos knows it's a foolish hope, but it's hope, still. That, and it's mostly nice not to be Bill's punching bag anymore, even for a few blissful minutes. Nice to relax just a little, pretend nothing is wrong, pretend he's just one of the gang again, not some _traitor_ about to get punished in some horrible way...

He pointedly avoids eye-contact with the human. The stupid mortal's gotten him into enough trouble, him and his sad little eyes and his _pleading_ and him making Kryptos _feel_ things... stupid little meatbag... getting mad at Kryptos, the _nerve_ ! he's not the one stupid enough to call Bill... _that_ ..to his _face_!....so to speak...

Kryptos tries to will himself not to look at the human, or at least not to care about it. It's a dumb pile of skin and goo...it doesn't have real _feelings_...

Bill laughs again, not even bothering to hide the sadism or the anger behind it. " _Really_ ? Do you _really_ ? Because I'm not sure if you _do_ understand!" he puts his hand underneath his eye in mock thought. "I wonder how I can make it real nice and _clear_ to yah, Sixer!"

Ford shakes his head, baring his throat to Bill in an attempt at submission. His whole body trembles. “N-No… No I understand… Please, Bill. Not again… J-Just… Just ignore me. I was being f-foolish…”

_You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Think you can stand up to me, eh?_

Bill cackles. "Oh, _ignore_ you, huh? You think you can tell me what to do, _hrm_ ?" He grabs Ford by his hair. "You think you can just open your big fat _mouth_ and just say _whatever_ you _want_ and that there won't be _consequences_ ?" he laughs. "Oh Fordsy, I'd hope even you aren't _that_ stupid..."

he looks off to the distance, pondering. "I wonder how we can _drive the point home_ this time..."

Ford yelps, his eyes snapping open. “L-Look, Bill… T-There’s no need for this…”

Shit, shit, he has to say something to appease him… Something to stop him from dismembering him….

“Um… M-My Lord?”

Bill knows immediately what Ford is playing at, and it's hardly enough to quell his temper. Still, it might be fun to watch the moron _try_.

" _WHAT_?" A red aura surrounds his form, humming and pulsing as it grows in intensity.

Ford ducks his head, shuffling onto his knees. He gulps. This was such a long shot. And it made him look pathetic .

“M-Master… Please I have l-learnt my lesson. As has Kryptos, I’m sure…”

Bill chuckles. "Oh? _have you_ now?" His gaze flickers towards Kryptos for a split second at the mention of him. The diamond lets out a small sound of distress and flinches in a comically over-the-top sort of way, eliciting a short laugh from Bill. Kryptos may be _stupid_ and _pathetic_ , but at least he's pretty funny sometimes.

"Yes, Bill... I-I mean my Lord and Master! Very much so!!!" Ford tries to keep his voice as low and reverent as possible and hide the utter disgust at himself.

He never was a good actor. Not like Stanely was.

Bill can't pretend he isn't tickled, despite it all. Ford is a stubborn, rebellious little thing; bringing him to heel never ceases to fill the dream demon with a vicious glee. Even if Ford's just doing this to avoid more pain, it's still a delightful change of pace.

It's not enough to cool his anger, but perhaps stay it, at least for the moment. "Hrm, can ya _prove it_ , Sixer?"

Kryptos is still a little confused as to why the human would mention him in his pleas. Is he trying to make Bill remember who he's _really_ angry at? Is he trying to get Kryptos in _more_ trouble?

Anger overtakes the diamond. He doesn't want Bill to think they're working together or something! Bill already thinks they've been "bonding" or whatever, and that's bad enough. Kryptos isn't gonna fall for anymore of the humans dumb tricks. "Hey, shut up meatsack! I'm not w-with _..._ w-working with _..._ _keep me out of your stupid fucking begging, skinbag_!"

Bill inhales sharply, red overcoming his form. He's literally shuddering with rage now. He turns, slowly to face his least favorite henchmaniac. " _KRYPTOS_ " he spits the diamond's name like a curse.

Kryptos trembles, backing away. He realizes quite rapidly he's made a terrible mistake. "Y-y-yes, Bill?" his voice small.  

Bill's eye is a black pit, his pupil a dagger of red driven through the center. He reaches out with his telekinesis and grabs Kryptos in a stranglehold. Kryptos beings instinctively struggling and making pathetic, terrified sounds as his body is set ablaze with raw energy, then crushed in its grip.

Bill tosses him into the nearest wall as hard as he can. " _SHUT THE FUCK UP_ , YOU FUCKING _DUMBASS_ "

Pyronica winces, cringing as the diamond slams into the wall.

“He’s done it now…” She mutters to Hector, throwing him a worried glance.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: more graphic violence and torture, including that of a blunt-force nature and something bloodless but a little more cruel and species-specific to Flatlanders. Alien insitituionalized abuses and humiliation are also involved in this chapter, as well as flashbacks, medical torture, and swearing.
> 
> (( _[Tumblr.](http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/144808527823/moral-compass-ch-6)_ ))

Ford flinches back as Kryptos is flung away. He can’t help but feel a little vindicated here… But, at the same time, he had almost managed to appease Bill enough to leave them alone! That kid shouldn’t have opened his mouth!

Then again… It’s Ford’s big mouth that has them in trouble in the first place.  

_Damn it!_

Hectorgon had been edging closer to Kryptos while Bill was distracted, but he long since made a hasty retreat. He grimaces at the heavy _thud_ of Kryptos making contact with the bricks, breathing a string of curses.

"Good _fuck_ Kryptos..." The diamond can be dense sometimes, but this is taking things to an entirely new level. Does he _want_ Bill to obliterate him?

The worst of it is having to watch and being able to do _nothing_. Stepping in now will do little but incur Bill's wrath.

 _Dammit, DAMMIT_! Should have made his move ages ago. He's gotten too used to immortality. Too used to the order of things. Too used to the idea that Kryptos would never make an irreparable mistake.

Hectorgon catches Pyronica's glance. he tries to keep his expression neutral, but he can feel himself shaking. The glass rattles around in his hand.

Kryptos opens his eye, then closes it again, too dizzy to move, his thoughts jumbling together. He gives a weak groan.

Bill grabs him again, telekinetically tossing him back to where the human is chained, back to the center of the circle of henchdemons. It's much softer handling in comparison to the way he drove him into the wall before, but it's still none too gentle. Kryptos lets out a little cry as he's thrown to the floor.

Kryptos is reminded painfully of how weak he actually is. Creatures from the 2nd dimensional are fragile, not meant to take this kind of abuse. The enhancements Bill gave him didn't exactly fix that.

"CAN YOU NOT KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT FOR LIKE _5 GODDAMNED SECONDS_?!"

Kryptos cringes. He's still too stunned to entirely process what Bill is saying, or think of a response. Just as well. He'd probably say something stupid and make Bill even angrier.

Ford shuffles back hastily, chains dragging across the ground and pulling him up short.

He bites his bottom lip. He could maybe try to pull Bill’s attention away again…

He just can’t will himself to say a word, terror sealing his throat shut.

He’s never seen Bill so angry. It was terrifying.

Pyronica stares in horror, her flames flare and flicker as her worry intensifies.

“He’s going to shatter him…” She mutters.

Hectorgon gazes blankly at the scene. He knows she's right. 1 trillion years, all they've been through together, and he's going to lose the idiot right here and now, to something entirely   _preventable._

The other henchmaniacs are trying to chuckle a little, make light of it. But it’s not funny anymore. This wasn’t like Bill disintegrating Kryptos on a whim and making a light show of it…

This was _discipline_ . A punishment for _treason_.

Not a laughing matter at all.

Bill sets down near Kryptos. His leans in, his gestures overly dramatic and jeering. "WHAT'S THAT? IS THAT _SILENCE_ ? COMING FROM _YOU_ ? MR. 'I'LL TELL MY SOB STORY TO ANYTHING THAT CAN TOLERATE MY PRESENCE LONG ENOUGH TO SPILL IT, EVEN A LITERAL LIVING BAG OF MEAT'? MR. 'I'LL BLAB ALL OF MY SECRETS TO WHATEVER HAPPENS TO BE _LYING AROUND_ '? YOU LIKE THE TASTE OF YOUR OWN FOOT MORE THAN _FORDSY_ OVER HERE!" He motions to the human, not even bothering to look in his direction.

Ford startles, risking a quick, panicked glance. This isn’t good. Not good at all…

_Don’t say a word… Don’t say a single word…_

Kryptos can't even bring himself to try to move. He doesn't want to do anything that might set Bill off. Not that there's much rational thought behind freezing; Kryptos is petrified with terror. Even his breathing is as shallow and quiet as he can make it.

There's a horrific silence that permeates throughout the room. No one says a single word.

Bill reaches out and physically grabs Kryptos, yanking him to his feet. "SO YOU'RE REALLY NOT GONNA SAY ANYTHING, ARE YAH?" He laughs. It's a demonic, ravenous sound. "THAT'S THE FIRST SMART THING I THINK YOU'VE DONE IN YOUR _ENTIRE LIFE”_ '

Kryptos bites his lip to keep from crying out. His body aches, Bill is scalding to the touch, but those are nothing in comparison to the rage in his eye.

Pyronica hisses, her flames flaring.

Bill steps into the air, levitating Kryptos along with him. "SPEAKING OF YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC LIFE, LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU AND YOUR TRAGIC TALE" Bill laughs. "SEEING AS YOU WERE SO EAGER TO SHARE YOUR _SIDE_ OF THINGS"

Kryptos forgets how to breathe. He stares in motionless, wide-eyed horror.

He...he wouldn't. He _wouldn't_...

Kryptos' mouth moves, and he knows he's begging...or he would be if any sound was coming out. All he can manage to do is spout meaningless syllables and mouth the words "no, no" repeatedly.

Bill smiles. His eye splits in two, his crooked, sharpened teeth glistening in the red light.

Pyronica grips onto Hectorgon, her eyes wide. Her flames flare and crackle, smoke billowing out of her form.

The rest of the henchdemons give Pyronica a wide berth, trying not to get singed by her flames. Hectorgon lets Pyronica pick him up without protest. He probably wouldn't have been able to stand or levitate throughout all this anyway. He can't even keep hold of his glass.

Ford lifts his head, watching the scene. When Bill smiles like that… It sends chills through him, feeling like he’s about to be devoured by those jagged teeth.

Bill laughs. "I SEEM TO RECALL YOU STARTED OUT WITH A LOT MORE SIDES AND ANGLES THAN YOU HAVE NOW! SOMETHING ABOUT THEM BEING ALL CROOKED AND TWISTED UP AND _DEFORMED_ AND STUFF!" He leans in close to Kryptos. "Ever miss 'em?"

Before Kryptos can even make a sound, Bill reaches out with his hand and furls it into a fist. A wave of telekinesis wraps itself around one of Kryptos' angles and _crushes it_. Kryptos screams.

Tears stream down his face. He closes his eye, trying not to look at it. He eventually gives in, and glances away quickly, feeling sick.

He's been disintegrated and blown up and thrown into walls and has had plenty of other things done to him over the last several eons, all painful, all unpleasant, but this is different, this is something baser and crueler, something that cut right through his mind, hacking it down to a trillion-year-old fear he didn't even know he remembered. It seems foolish now, thinking he might ever, ever forget.

Bill is far from finished, however. He reaches out with his hand again, snapping another one of Kryptos' angles. Kryptos lets out an agonized shriek.

"HATE TO RUIN ALL THOSE NICE, EVEN, STRAIGHT SIDES, BUT" Bill's laughter is unholy. "THEM'S THE _BREAKS_ , KID"

He fractures two of Kryptos’ sides, one after another, cackling as he does it. Kryptos feels himself on the verge of unconsciousness, until Bill snaps his fingers. The pain hits him like a sledgehammer. He screams and screams and sobs and begs, his words slurring and dissolving into gibberish.

Bill twirls his finger. Kryptos' sides come together, but not to reassemble. Instead they dig into each other, trying to form new angles. They splinter at the edges, making fissures form along his body.

Kryptos' voice has long since begun to grow hoarse, but he's still screaming. He closes his eye, his mind separating from his body, then being pulled back in, rooted there by the pain, or maybe by Bill himself. Flashes of memories from eons ago, back when Kryptos was still in Flatland, memories he was sure he buried alongside just about everything else from that god-awful time and that god-awful place, hit him in broken pieces of sound, and smell, and light, and color, and _fear_. Sensations he hoped he would never experience again.

The feeling of gauze, soft when first applied, tight and binding after hours and hours, and the (sometimes you can't put them under when you reconstruct the break) itch, itch, itch of it against wounds. The caustic scent (yes it hurts but it's not as bad when they're young) of some kind of disinfectant. The sound of metal clattering and the (yes It may seem cruel but it's all for the best) look in someone's eye when they know that you're _wrong_ , you look _wrong_ (they won't survive any other way this is for their own good), looking at you is a burden and you need to be _fixed_ , thank god they're _fixing_ you.

 _But something's wrong, something's wrong, because they really should have_ fixed _you by now. They're not supposed to have to work on you past the toddler years, maybe young childhood. You're well into your teens now and something's wrong, you're all_ wrong _because they're still trying hopelessly to_ fix _you. Most polygons with this amount of angles aren't this irregular, and  even when they are, it's usually an easy adjustment, a quick fix. You're an interesting case, a really fascinating case, really fascinating to study. You'll be more fascinating if they can fix you. Even more fascinating if you survive._

Kryptos is back in the Fearamid, and things are suddenly a lot more quiet. He's learned by now, finally learned, that that's not always a good thing.

His vision is blurry. He blinks, looking up at Bill. He's still glowing a bright red. This is far, far from _over_.

Ford can only watch. He doesn’t completely understand what is happening but things are slowly falling into place.

 _“They moved my angles around so much I don't even know what I began as._ _They still hurt sometimes…”_ That’s what the little diamond told him.

And now it was happening right before his eyes. A hideous twisting form and the creature is screaming and angles are cracking and reforming. But it’s _wrong_. Like a puzzle piece being forced into a place it doesn’t belong.

_This is all your fault, Ford._

_"D-don't...don't tell Bill I told you about him being an irregular, ok? He'll fucking kill me.”_

A gaping pit splits open in his stomach, his face pale and fingers clammy. He’s never seen something so horrendous… So cruel. So… Specific.

It’s all his fault.

This creature’s agony is all _his_ fault.

Kryptos knows where he is, who he is, but everything still feels a little far away. He's shuddering, limp in Bill's grasp. There's a dread deep inside of his stomach, festering, hollowing him out. For a little while that seems like the only real sensation there is.

And then the pain hits. He lets out a choked sob. Oh gods, oh gods, why isn't he unconscious yet...

The terror is soon to follow as he processes Bill, and then Bill speaking. "...BUT I THINK WE CAN DO EVEN BETTER THAN THIS, DON'T YOU?"

Better than this? Better than _what_? The panic takes hold, his mind too muddled to think but too alert all the same. He feels his angles shifting again and he cries out.

"B-b-b-bi-bi..." He sobs once more, struggling desperately to make the words form. "b-bi-i-ll-l-l...Bill-Bill, p-p-pl-pl ple-eas-s-se...s-s-s-sto-o-p-p ..."

Hectorgon’s not sure what he should do. Witness it in full? Look away? Equally as useless, equally as futile. There's no way to dull a moment like this but with time, time and lots of alcohol, and maybe not even that. Not that any of that does any good right now.

He only really has one hope for this, one single hope that he prays to whatever god he can think of - that Bill will spare Kryptos' life, and if he does so, that such a life will be worth living out.

In the end, he watches Bill break the first angle, and can't bring himself to watch beyond that. Not that it matters. He's never going to forget the sound of Kryptos' pleas for mercy, or that of a side splintering.

Pyronica can only stare, slack jawed with eye wide. She’s never heard Kryptos make such noises before… Such pitiful noises!

Not his usual funny shrieking and running around. Pleading and begging sounds so terrifyingly wrong coming from him.

Ford gulps, wincing at the sound of the crack. It must be the equivalent to breaking a bone… Or a joint. It certainly sounded like it, paired with those bloodcurdling screams.

“Oh.. Oh my god…” He breathes. Kryptos looks positively deformed from what he was, no more clear cut angles and straight sides. Everything just looks distorted. A twisted form of what he once was.

Kryptos' cries are weaker now. Bill is still preventing him from losing consciousness, so all he can do is hang there, limp and trapped and on display, and cry out pathetically as his body is mutilated and rearranged.

Bill is laughing throughout the entire ordeal. He holds up his fingers to his eye, positioning them like he's setting up a photo. "WE COULD STRAIGHTEN YOU OUT A LITTLE, Y'KNOW? YOU COULD BE A LITTLE LENGTHIER HERE AND THERE"

He motions his hand, making Krypto's sides pull apart from each other. Kryptos shrieks. The fissures made by smashing his angles and sides together turn into gaping tears, some running so deep his innards become visible. A sound similar to metal being twisted and pulled apart rings out through the throne room.

" S-S-S-STOPSTOPP-P-PLEAS-SEBILLPLEASE'MSORRY'MSORRY" Kryptos sobs. " _I-I'M S-SORRY_ "

Ford ducks his head, tucking his ears between his knees to block out the hideous noise. The groaning and tearing of a sheet of metal paired with Kryptos’ screams of pain and agony. He can still hear it. It won’t stop…

_This is his fault_

“Stop.. stop it…” He mutters, shaking his head furiously. His whole body trembles.

_It’s all your fault, Stanford!_

“STOP!” He roars, jerking his head up and lunging as far as the chains will let him. “LEAVE HIM… LEAVE HIM ALONE!” He yells, straining against the bonds like a guard dog; snapping and snarling at his captors.

Bill turns to face Ford. He chuckles.

"WELL IF IT ISN'T THE BRAVE LITTLE _HERO_ , THROWING HIMSELF ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK TO TRY AND _SAVE THE DAY AGAIN_ " He laughs. "YOU REALLY WANNA TAKE HIS _PLACE_ ?" He motions to the sobbing, shaking, blubbing mess of a creature suspended in the center of the room. "DO YAH? _SIXER_ ?"    


“I-I DON’T _CARE_!” Ford roars. “WHAT YOU’RE DOING IS…. JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE! I’LL… I’LL TAKE HIS PLACE!” Ford wheezes, the collar pressing against his windpipe as he pulls against it. But the adrenaline surging through his body wills him to continue to fight.

“JUST STOP IT!”

Bill stares at Stanford for a moment. Then, he bursts into a fit of laughter. "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE _SERIOUS_ ?!" He wheezes. "HOLY SHIT, YOU WERE...ACTUALLY...OH MY GOD" He wipes away a tear, his body losing some of the red aura. "HAHAHAHA, _WOW_ , GET A LOAD OF THE MEATSACK WITH THE HERO COMPLEX OVER HERE!"

Some of the henchdemons force a chuckle or two, not sure where Bill is going with this, but hoping it might signal the end of Kryptos' punishment, at least for now.

Pyronica laughs the loudest, somewhat hysterically. Anything to distract Bill from Kryptos.

“HAH! GOOD ONE!” She squeals.

Ford bristles, a snarl curls his lip. “I’m not letting anyone else get hurt because of me!”

Bill laughs again. "ARE YOU REALLY IN A POSITION TO BE 'LETTING' ANYONE DO _ANYTHING_ , FORDSY?"

He teleports inches away from the human, his eye as cold and lightless as a black hole. "DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN JUST _FIX_ THIS BY PLAYING HERO AGAIN?"

All the henchdemons observe the exchange, unsure of what the result might be. Hectorgon watches breathlessly. he doubts Bill will agree to such a trade, but there's still a chance, a tiny, desperate chance...

Kryptos is beginning to fade into unconsciousness now, with Bill's focus turned away from him. He can barely process anything that's happening, his mind so filled with pain, but he can see Bill talking to the human...what could they possibly be talking about...?

Kryptos' eye closes. It doesn't matter. Maybe he can get some peace, some _relief_...

Bill grins. "HOW...SENTIMENTAL OF YOU, STANFORD" He chuckles. "UNFORTUNATELY, SENTIMENT WON'T SAVE YOU" He gestures to Kryptos "...OR THIS PATHETIC CREATURE"

Ford doesn’t waver, even though every fibre of his body shrinks in terror and screams for him to get as far away from Bill as possible.

“So be it.” He snarls, a dooming finality to his words. If he was to die for this, at least it’d be doing something right for once.

Bill grabs him, his fingers sharpened claws. "DON'T YOU GET IT, FORDSY?" he laughs. " YOU HAVE NOTHING TO _BARGAIN WITH_ " he gives him a squeeze. "I  _OWN YOU_ , GET THAT THROUGH YOUR _THICK SKULL_ "

Ford winces, trying to keep the pain from his face.

“I … don’t care.” He gasps.

"YOU DON' T CARE? YOU DON'T _CARE_ ?" Bill cackles. "STILL NOT QUITE GETTING IT ARE YOU? HERE, _LET ME ENLIGHTEN YOU_ "

Bill digs his claws in and crushes the human in his hand.

Pyronica whoops as the human goes limp and leaks red all over the floor.

“Way to shut the human up, Bill!”

Bill does feel a bit pleased with himself...there is some delicious finality in his power over his old mark, the human who scorned him. However, he's hardly in a mood to entertain his gang. He has _business_ to attend to. A lesson to teach.

He tosses the human aside, turning back to the whimpering, shuddering mess of a thing Kryptos had been reduced to.

"Now then, now that _that_ nuisance is out of the way, Krypster and I have still have some _issues_ we need to resolve, so LET'S GET BACK TO _THAT_ , SHALL WE?"  
  
Bill snaps his fingers and Kryptos awakens with a scream.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: vague references to prior torture, treating humans like animals/pets, humiliation, swearing, alcohol (Time Alcohol lmfao), and someone gets eaten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rrc: ok so editing this sucker took an hour and a half, which is around an hour longer than it shoulda, primarily because moose and I kept thinking of ludicrous things to add to the scene. An example -
> 
> me: *reads the line about the really obnoxious music*  
> me: lmfao Kazoo Kid Trap Remix, 10 hour version. That's what Bill and his crew get down to.
> 
> so yeah, enjoy visualizing _that_ while you read this scene.

The world returns slowly for Ford. The red glow of the Fearamid slides into focus. A dull ache throbs through his spine, tingling against the nape of his neck. The sound of obnoxiously jarring rave music slices through his head and he groans, rolling over onto his side.

Finally. The seemingly endless torture has ended… For now, at least.

He reaches out to hoist himself onto his knees and realises something… His hands were free, along with his legs! His muscles ache and his joints crack, but he’s free!

There’s a rattle of a chain close to his ear and he flinches. But the burst of panic fades into annoyance as he realises Bill’s left the glowing blue collar latched firmly around his neck. He reaches up to tug at it and growls when he notices it even has a triangle shaped tag on it. Seriously?

But he’s loose… So maybe he can make a break for it. He’d give anything to see his brother and the kids again… Apologise for being such an idiot… Make amends...

He slowly gets to his feet. Bill seems to be reclining in the air on his hideous throne … He might not have noticed him yet…

He takes a few steps backwards, testing to see if he had a chance…

Kryptos is still shaking. He feels the echoes of pain from the prior...incident...but he's pretty sure the trembling is from the shock of it all. The fear that it isn't over and his tormentor is just messing with him.

He's hanging towards the back of the room, away from his...associates. If they can even be called that.

Despite all that just happened to him, they went immediately back to partying, like nothing was wrong. Some part of him is screaming _it's your fault, they had no business helping you out of this mess! It's all on you!_ but some other part is...well, he certainly doesn't feel the same way about them that he did before.

Kryptos can't even hang out at the snack table, not after...all that...so he simply hovers quietly in the corner, watching the scene listless and numb. He spies the human making a break for it. As angry as he is at the creature, he doesn't really want to watch Bill cut him open again...not again... His gaze flickers towards Bill then back to the human. Well he's certainly not going to stop the creature from escaping, either. He doesn't owe any of these assholes any favors...

"HEY KRYPSTER!" Kryptos jumps so hard he nearly runs into the wall.  
  
Ford freezes on the spot.  
  
Kryptos follows the sound of that perfectly vile and grating voice to it's source on the throne. Bill is motioning to the human. "Could you do me a favor, pal? Can yah take care of my favorite little pet for me tonight? I'm a little... _busy_..." He chuckles.

Terror and fury and humiliation feud inside of Kryptos. He scowls to himself, then quickly changes to a more neutral expression and complies. He doesn't want any more trouble. He doesn't want any more pain.

He floats over and scoops up the chain before the human can retreat any further.

Ford bunches his fists at either side, standing stubbornly in place and pointedly ignoring the henchmaniac.

Kryptos glares silently. He says nothing, turning away from the human. He'd rather have just as much to do with the creature as the creature would with Kryptos, the diamond is sure.

Bill laughs. "Hey Krypster, I'll bet he's hungry! And since i know you _love_ feeding him and all..." He chuckles throws a finger gun in their direction. "have fun!~"

Kryptos is sure the displeasure is showing clearly on his face, but he obeys. He tugs at the captive's chain. "Come along human...feeding time..."

Ford glowers in Bill's direction, expecting a catch.

But he follows Kryptos obediently, eyeing him with wariness.

Kryptos hovers over to the snack table and tosses a fistful of the first thing he comes across into a bowl. He gives the chain a couple of shakes and drops the bowl on the floor. "Here."

Bill laughs. Kryptos flinches at the noise. "Ah ah ah, c'mon Krypster, don't make him eat it off the floor!" Bill takes a drink of punch and chortles. "Feed him like you were doing before! You know!"  

Kryptos bites his lip, picking the bowl off the ground. He fishes a chip out of the bowl and offers it to the human. "Go on. Eat."

Ford scowls and snatches the chip out of Kryptos’ hand with his own hands. And then proceeds to take the bowl out of Kryptos’ grip and bolt down the food before anyone could stop him.

All while pinning his glare at Bill.

He isn’t going to play his stupid games.

Kryptos gives a little yelp and his scowl deepens. With a growl, he gives the human a shove and snatches the bowl out of his hands. He glances at Bill to gauge his reaction.

Bill is giggling. "having a little trouble there, Krypster?"

Kryptos sets his jaw. He shoots the human a furious look.

“What?” Ford snaps, returning the venomous glare. “You said I could have food so give me the goddamn food!”

He growls and attempts to snatch the bowl off the other once more. He’s had enough of being treated like this!

"Oh come on!" Kryptos snaps. "You heard what Bill wants! It's not that simple!"

A terribly fresh recall of what Bill had done to him...to both of them...plays out in his mind. He can't stifle the shudder that runs through him.

“Well, _maybe,_ I don’t care what Bill wants!” He gives the bowl another tug.

All Bill does is make his life miserable. Even if he’s not doing anything wrong. Nothing seemed to work with him. Even complying to his wishes simply made it worse.

Kryptos yanks on the bowl. "Well maybe _I_ care! I don't wanna get...hurt...again..." He glares. "and maybe if you did what he wanted, he wouldn't hurt you _either_!"

He can hear Bill laughing and laughing. Several of the henchdemons had paused to observe the source of the commotion, or were at least stealing glances in his direction. He catches sight of Hectorgon looking at him and sighing, taking a sip of his drink.

Humiliation burns within him. Humiliation and a cold, raw fear.

Ford sighs, relinquishing his grip and dropping his head. Kryptos got hurt because he showed kindness to him.

“Fine… Forget it. I’m not even hungry…” He pushes the bowl away.

Kryptos stares at the human, dumbfounded. He was usually so much more stubborn.

Is it a trick? Humans are such deceptive things...

Bill claps sarcastically in the background. "Bravo, Krypster! Really showed the mortal who's boss!" He laughs. "Now make sure he eats! Wouldn't want him to _starve_ , now would we?"

Kryptos winces. Great. Just great. He isn't strong enough to make the human do what he wants. He's gonna get...

Kryptos looks down at the bowl and then at the human, trying to keep his hands from shaking. He sighs. "Can you please just do what you're supposed to? Don't you have to eat, anyway?"

Ford grits his teeth at the sound of Bill’s piercing voice. He bunches his fists and digs his fingernails into his palms.

He has to do it. He doesn’t want any more people…. monsters… anyone getting hurt because of him.

He shakily kneels on the floor and opens his mouth.

“Just get it over with.”

Kryptos could almost applaud himself. He made the human do what he wanted.

But instead, there's that guilt again. And whatever the hell that other feeling was...

Oh god, it's sympathy. Bill was _right._

Kryptos inhales. he can do this, _just...don't....feel...anything..._

Yeah. Sure.

Kryptos sits cross-legged on the floor. He finds a Time Gummy and puts it in Ford's mouth. "Whatever."

Ford chews and swallows. At least… At least Kryptos has Time Gummies…

The process continues until the bowl is empty. He swallows and tugs at the irritating collar. He didn’t like the situation one bit. But there’s no point in throwing anyone else under the bus on account of his own stubbornness.

Pyronica can’t enjoy herself anymore, watching her friend closely. He doesn’t look happy at all… This isn’t how it was supposed to be. She worries her lips with her fangs, giving Hectergon a concerned look.

Hectorgon returns with a confused expression. "Whatever is troubling you, Pyronica?"

She looks over at Kryptos and the human. “You think Bill’s being a little hard on the guy?”

Hectorgon glances at the diamond. "Hrm." He scratches his moustache. "Perhaps. But Kryptos needs to come to his senses concerning that...creature." _Wouldn’t want Bill to target him again._ Hectorgon takes a sip of his drink. "He should return to normal soon, enough." _He’ll never be the same again, but..._

Hectorgon is far from sure of a single thing he's said, but since when was he? "Kryptos has survived far worse." He laughs. It's short and a bit fake. "Besides, he is a bit soft sometimes, wouldn't you say? I do tire of lending him aid."

“Yeah… I dunno. Krypy has always a little… soft. But he likes destruction and chaos as much as the rest of us.” She twists a claw around one of her horns.

Hectorgon nods. "Indeed."

“Should we invite him over here?”

He hesitates at Pyronica's offer. "It largely depends on if Bill will allow it." He shrugs. "One way to find out, I suppose..."

“I’ll talk to him.” Pyronica turns on her heel and strides up to Bill’s throne. An eye bat flaps in and deposits another frozen human.

“Hey, Bill!” She calls out, waving at him. “Why don’t we bring Krypy and the human over here?”

Bill's gaze draws lazily to Pyronica, then to Kryptos and the human. He lifts his hand and motions idly. "Sure sure...whatever..." he giggles. "Knock yourself out, Nikki!"

“We’ll show the human what it means to party!” She crows, cackling before leaping into the air and flying over to the snack table.

“Yo! Kryptos! Come and join us!” She says, landing next to him.

Kryptos jumps. "Hey, Pyronica." he smiles, and it's not entirely fake. "Ok...sure..."

Ford isn’t impressed, narrowing his eyes.

“You can join us too, human!” She giggles.

Kryptos relaxes. He may still not be sure how to feel about his fr...associates. But Pyronica he's known for a long time. She's always looked out for him.

He pulls on the chain. "Come on human. Let's join them."

Ford crosses his arms and follows Kryptos begrudgingly. He’d really rather not. But what choice did he have?

“Oooh! I haven’t seen it up close before! Isn’t it cute?” Pyronica coos, pinching the human’s cheeks and scruffing his hair. She sticks her fingers into his mouth and lifts up his lip to reveal his teeth.

“I beg your par—!“.

“Such tiny teeth too! How do you eat anything with those?”

Ford pushes her away, bristling with fury. “Excuse you! Get your hands off me!” He snaps.

She just giggles. “Oooh! He is feisty! I love it! C’mon! We’re gonna show you how to party!”

Kryptos rolls his eye, but he's smiling a little. Pyronica's enthusiasm is sort of contagious. There's still some sort of cold, hard bitterness somewhere inside of him, but it's pushed aside. It's hard to stay truly angry at the excitable pink monster.

The rest of the henchmaniacs gather around. Kryptos would love nothing more than to retreat again, but he's about as much captive as the human, so he inhales and tries to make the best of it.

Hectorgon takes another sip of punch and casually floats over to the scene. He glances at Kryptos. The old boy looks none the worse for wear. He's even smiling a bit. Maybe he's had some sense knocked into him, but he should be fine in the end, as always...at least, that's what Hectorgon hopes.

Kryptos catches sight of him and a bitter look crosses his face. A chill creeps through Hectorgon. Perhaps he spoke too soon.

Pyronica is thrilled at her new plaything, prodding and poking at his squishy cheeks and pulling his hair. Ford is absolutely bristling with fury, testily slapping her claws away. That only spurs her on.

“Oooh! Look guys! He’s trying to play with me!” She giggles, pinching his nose.

“No! Leave me alone!” Ford growls.

“Hehe! Look Bill! He likes me!” She yanks on his chain. “Come on, human! Dance with us!”

Ford is thrown forward and he looks helplessly up at Bill. Surely he didn’t like sharing him? Maybe he’d let him go back to the penthouse… It was ridiculous how much he missed that place right now.

Bill watches Ford be thrown around by his henchdemons. He sees the helpless, pleading look on the human's face.

He laughs, crossing his legs and laying back. "Having fun there, my henchmaniacs?"

The others jeer and laugh in response.

“You should let us play with him more often!” Pyronica pulls Ford into the middle of the group.

“Now— Now see here—!”

“AAH! HE’S SO CUUTE!!!” Pyronica coos, squishing his cheeks together and then flicking out her frog-like tongue across his face.

“Let’s see you dance, human! Come on! Let’s see what you’ve got!” She bounces on the spot, making him jump with her.

“Er… Well… I-I don’t dance…”

“Sure you do! You just did! Come on!”

Ford looks at Bill and then Kryptos. Someone please help him.

Kryptos sees the desperate expression on the human's face as well. He huffs, turning away. He's already paid dearly for showing kindness to that mortal. He's not about to make the same mistake twice.

Hectorgon chuckles, raising his glass in Ford's direction. "Go on human! Dance!"

8 Ball pounds on the floor. "Dance! Dance!"

A chant of "DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!" erupts from the henchdemons.

Bill eyes the scene idly, cackling. "Well go on, Sixer! Don't let them down!"

Pyronica giggles with delight, tugging the human forward.

“Stop it!” He snaps. “I’m not going to dance! I can’t dance!” Heat rises to his face. He hasn’t felt pressure to dance since middle school prom. And it ended with a girl tipping grape juice on his face.

“Aww! C’mon pet! DANCE!” Pyronica’s shoots flames at the human’s feet. He yelps, leaping on the spot.

The henchmaniacs roar in approval. Bill's laughter rings out amidst the cacophony.

Kryptos tries to keep his back to the scene, but it's difficult, seeing as he's connected to the human by a very short chain. When the human is pushed forward, he stumbles a bit. He turns to scowl, then composes himself. He can't mess this up. He doesn't want Bill to get angry at him again.

He glances at his friends. He wants to be part of the group again, too.

Still, the human's distress has become difficult to watch. It doesn't help that Kryptos himself would rather not be in the center of the crowd either.

Dancing though...dancing is something he does sorta like...sometimes..

Krpytos glances back at the human. He sighs and hovers a little closer to the mortal. "Ah, it's not so hard." He says, a small smile on his face. "Just..."

He floats to the floor and begins bouncing on his heels. "...move to the music and stuff!" He taps his feet and shuffles around. "Just go with it, Ford!"

Ford looks at Kryptos with disbelief. How could he go with it in a place like this?

He tries though. He really does. He bounces to the beat of the music, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Ford.

The only one who called him by his real name and who wasn’t Bill.

“Yeah! GO HUMAN!” Pyronica joins in, wiggling her hips and prancing around. She jiggles the chain on Ford’s collar in excitement.

Bill eyes the pair. That was awfully friendly of Kryptos...had the diamond still not learned his lesson?

Kryptos isn't much of a clever being, nor a subtle one. It was just as likely an attempt to win back his friends.

Possessiveness stews in Bill. He called him Ford ...they must have had a little chat before Bill caught them... Geeze, didn't Sixer know better by now than to trust multi-dimensional beings bearing gifts?

Oh well, irksome as it is, the display can hardly be labeled "disobedience", so Bill is willing to let it slide...for now...

He pretends to go back to sipping his punch and enjoying the party, but his gaze is firmly locked on the little human and his new keeper.

Kryptos wills himself not to steal a look at Bill. Since the party wasn't brought to a grinding halt by his angry shrilling, it looks like Bill isn't displeased...but the absence of anger could also just mean that it's quietly simmering, waiting for a single false move to bring it to a full boil...

Kryptos isn't going to be caught off-guard again. He isn't going to push Bill any more than necessary. But there's not much else he realistically do to ensure Bill's pardon, nothing he can think of that he cares to engage in, anyway, so he continues dancing, trying not to think about it too much. Trying to have a good time with the rest of his...friends...and they are his friends, his other feelings about them lost in the sway of the music and Pyronica's excited shouting... He tries not to think about anything else, just to take his own advice and, well, go with it.

"That's it, human, you've got it!" Kryptos gives him what he hopes is a reassuring smile. His jig gets more enthusiastic and he lets out a small spirited giggle.

If Bill is gonna torture him for just having a good time, there's little he can do about it, so he might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

A reluctant grin twitches at Ford’s lips and he begins to let himself relax, moving with the shrill beat of the music.

“Yes! Now you’ve got it!” Pyronica was super excited, tapping her heels before grabbing the human’s arms and swinging him around.

“WOOOAAHH!!!” Ford yells, stumbling into Hectorgon.

Pyronica bursts out in raucous cackles, doubling over as the silly creature stumbles and falls flat on his face. “OOPS! THE HUMAN WANTS TO PLAY WITH YOU TOO, HECTOR!” She crows, balancing on one foot for a moment and curling her other heel over her back.

Hectorgon lets out a little "oof!" as he's thrown back a few feet. He brushes himself off, his lips twisting into a snarl. He shakes off his hand, now covered in punch.

He grabs the human roughly and tosses him into Pyronica. "Keep it away from me, if you please!"

Kryptos is dragged a few feet himself as the human is thrown in the opposite direction.

Ford feels like he's stuck in a washing machine, churning back and forth.

"Hey! Watch it!" He snarls, glaring at the Hectorgon.

Hectorgon sneers. " You watch it." He shoves his empty, sticky glass into Teeth's hand and takes his for himself. Teeth gives a little growl, but then tosses the glass aside. He was never one much for punch anyway.

"Aw! Don't be such a party pooper, Hector! It just wanted to say hi!" Pyronica wraps her arms around the human, bringing him close to her chest.

"Oooh! I could just eat you right up! Yes I could!" She nuzzles his neck, her sticky tongue slicks up his throat and over his cheek.

Ford feels inhuman heat radiating off her, struggling in her iron grip. She smells like gunpowder and sherbet. He shudders, his skin crawling at her touch.

Kryptos floats up to Pyronica and pats her nervously on the shoulder. "I-I don't think humans can survive that, Roni, haha..."

“Aw Krypy! Don’t be silly! I just wanna have a little taste is all!” Pyronica laughs.

Her tongue sticks fast to Ford’s cheek and he finds himself whipped backwards into something dark and sticky.

Oh…. OH NO!

“LET ME OUT!” Ford screams, kicking around and slamming his fists into what he believed was the creature’s tongue.

Pyronica ignores him, savouring the taste and appearing deep in thought, despite the pitiful human’s struggles.

“Hmm… Tastes kinda bitter. Dirt and sadness are the main flavours I’m getting… A little burnt around the edges.”

Kryptos tries to stave off the panic. He glances at Bill, who has his elbow sitting on the armrest of his throne, one of his upper angles resting on his fist. He stirs his punch with idle interest.

Is this what he _wants_ ? Maybe...However...It's not that the human couldn't simply be _repaired_ if needed, but...would Bill consider this an example of Kryptos being a bad human...keeper...person? would he chide him for not minding his pet properly? Would he return to...

Kryptos feels himself shaking, and no, no, he can't even take that chance...

He turns his attention back to the screaming, struggling human and the cheery, oblivious monster in the process of consuming him. " _Pyronica_ !" He squeaks. " _Be careful_!"

Bill would prefer his human intact, and if not, disassembled under his own authorization. However... Pyronica giving him a bit of a taste was all very much worth the panicky performance from Kryptos. He decides to see where this will go. He can always lay down the law if things go too far.

“LET ME GO! I’LL RIP OUT YOUR INSIDES!” Ford roars, writhing in the sticky, burning liquid. He kicks out before attempting to punch the roof of the monster’s mouth.

She sighs, spitting him out onto the ground. “You taste _weird_!” She exclaims, licking the excess drool off her dripping teeth.

“I like it!” She stoops down and picks him up by the scruff of his collar.

“See, Kryp! It’s fine!”

“I am not fine! You tried to eat me you little—!”

“AAH! Look at his tiny little appendages!!” She gushes, plucking at his arms as he tries to swing a punch.

“Don’t _TOUCH_ THOSE! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT _NOW_!” Ford is completely beside himself, thrashing wildly and lashing out. He might as well have been a mouse struggling in the jaws of cat.

“Awww! He’s so easily upset!” She laughs, swinging him from side to side.

"Roni... please put him down." Kryptos mutters, shuddering and wringing his hands.

Bill's quiet chuckling can be heard even amidst the music and the human's hysterical shrieking. Kryptos tenses, then relaxes.

Maybe it's fine...yeah it's fine...Bill's not angry...right?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Henchmaniacs play Spin the Person.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Bodily harm happens to Ford again lmfao, and others come to think of it. There's also swearing, and that's pretty much it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moose: This story has been sitting unfinished for a while so here's some more! Sorry for the wait and thank you for the comments and kudos!
> 
> rrc: Just wanted to add that this chapter and the next will indeed be the end. Our next project will be working on Hero's Formula primarily, with maybe a few other fics here and there. 
> 
> hank you all for your patience and support <3 it means a lot!

Even if Bill finds this amusing, Kryptos will certainly be glad when the ordeal is over, and he's sure Ford...the _human_ will feel the same. " _Roni_..." he urges, more strained.

 

“Aww, Kryp! What’s the problem! It’s just a bit upset! It’ll live!” She lowers him onto the floor at her feet before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and cuddling him close.

 

“He’s so squishy!”

 

Ford yelps at the tight hold, struggling to free himself. She only holds him tighter.

 

Kryptos checks Bill once more before turning his attentions back to Pyronica’s interaction with the human. She doesn’t mean any harm…uh, probably…but she can still be a little careless.

 

“Yes, yes and delicate!” Kryptos says hurriedly. “So don’t squish him _too_ hard!”

 

Not that Bill would care…or would he? Oh, Kryptos just isn’t _sure_ …

 

Pyronica scoffs. "Don't be silly he likes it!" She ruffles his hair before crossing her legs and sitting on the floor.

 

Ford is forced to sit on her lap. How humiliating!

 

Pyronica giggles as Ford tries, in vain, to escape. He gives up with a sigh, slumping in her lap.

 

"Aw! That's a good little pet! Yes! Such a good little pet!" She coos, stroking him none too gently. "Now! Who's up for a game of Spin the Person!" She calls out. "Someone grab us a human! This one's staying with me."

 

"Oh oh I am! I am!" Teeth cackles.

 

Hectorgon sniffs. The game is alright, but he is far from interested in repeating the results of the last time they played... Still, he shrugs and sits down across from Pyronica. What is the harm, really?  

 

"I can't play if I have to watch the human, Roni..." Kryptos says, oh well, it's not his favorite game, anyway.

 

Pyronica laughs. "The human's fine! I'm keeping my eye on him, come join us! Maybe you'll actually get lucky!" She chuckles.

 

Kryptos sighs and sits down next to Pyronica. He glances at Bill, waiting for approval.

 

Bill yawns and motions. "Yeah yeah, whatever! go nuts, Krypster!"

 

Kryptos inches closer to the circles. He's reluctant to take his hand off of the chain, though.

 

Paci-fire cackles as he flies over to an Eyebat perch and tears a human from one of their grips. "LET’S PLAY!" he bellows, tossing the human to Pyronica.

 

Pyronica catches the human deftly, throwing it into the air before slamming it into the middle of the circle.

 

Ford crosses his arms, glaring dismally at the frozen human. His heart sinks at the sight. It's Manly Dan. He'd spent many nights in the man's cabin during his research. He shakes his head sorrowfully, his chest constricting.

 

Kryptos gives a passing glimpse at the human. He sees the expression on his face at the sight of the other human. he pretends not to notice. It's harder than he thought it would be.

  
"SPIN THE PERSON! SPIN THE PERSON!" Pyronica crows, spinning the frozen lumberjack around.

 

Ford can't bear it. He can't watch this. This is a person. Alive. He covers his eyes with his tattered sleeve.

 

The person lands on Hector and Kryptos. Pyronica squeals with delight.

 

"YESS! GIVE HIM A KISS, KRYPTOS!!!" She laughs.

 

Ford proceeds to curl up on her lap, hiding away from the scene.

 

Kryptos stares at Hectorgon. Shit. _Shit..._

 

Hectorgon gives him a bit of a glare, like he's challenging him. Like he doesn't think he'll really do it.

 

Kryptos gulps. He looks around. all eyes and various other visual sensory organs are on him.

 

He has to. If he doesn't want to everyone to think he's totally lame, he _has_ to. The question is whether Hectorgon will be more furious at him for eating him...or kissing him?

 

Hectorgon crosses his arms. "Well, Kryptos?"

 

Kryptos lets the chain fall into Pyronica's lap as he makes his way over to Hectorgon. Kryptos isn't sure what he's going to do, but he's going to try...whatever it may be...

 

Everyone is watching them. Even Bill is intrigued, leaning in closer from his throne.

 

Hectorgon is about his size. Eating him will be difficult...maybe he'll just take a small bite out of him, would that count?

 

Kryptos begins shaking again, but he stands his ground, his gaze fixed on Hectorgon. Hector's eye is covered by his mustache, but Kryptos knows he's staring back at him, an expression of pure obstinacy in his posture.

 

Several long moments tick by.

 

Hectorgon snorts. "Like you would really..."

 

Kryptos' mind is hardly processing, he simply grabs Hectorgon by the tie and mashes their mouths together.

 

Hectorgon makes some sort of protest, flailing around, but there is a select, specific few seconds in which he makes absolutely no resistance at all.

 

After what is probably far too long a time, or certainly feels like it, Kryptos pulls up from the kiss, mortified. That wasn't what he was going to do! Fuck, _fuck_ , he should have tried to eat him!

 

There's a long silence, which is abruptly murdered by Bill is screeching with laughter from atop his throne.

 

Hectorgon and Kryptos stare at each other in a trance-like state of shock.

 

Hectorgon shoves Kryptos away abruptly, wiping off his mouth. Kryptos retreats back to his seat beside Pyronica, trying to avoid Hector's gaze.

 

Hectorgon says nothing. He simply scowls and leaves the circle wordlessly, taking his punch with him.

 

Kryptos folds into himself, taking the human's chain again. What was he thinking? Why would he do such a thing? He has no idea now how Hectorgon feels about that...he's clearly angry...though Kryptos isn't entirely sure why...He's sure he saw Hectorgon...blush. No. That's stupid. ridiculous.

 

Either way, he has a feeling Hector is gonna be furious at him for a good long time now. Dammit, why didn't he just take a bite out of him, like any reasonable demon or nightmare would?

 

\--------

 

Hectorgon curses himself for being so utterly incredibly, ludicrously _stupid_. He should have never put himself in that position! Either of them! He should have foreseen this as an outcome! He should have prepared himself! And he certainly never should have _left the circle_... but, unfortunately, he has had frankly all that he can take right now. He's hoping Bill and the others wouldn't care to read too much into his leaving other than disgust and irritation...which he assuredly is experiencing...Kryptos, _kissing him_...what was the idiot thinking? He wasn't thinking! That was always the problem with Kryptos, He thinks with his goddamned feelings! God, how could he be so idiotic...how could he...how could he be....

 

_How could he be such a good kisser?_

 

Hectorgon banishes that thought hurriedly. He has a nice life here. A carefree, boundary-less, passionless life here. No rules, no life threatening risks, no real concerns at all. The only rule is this, the only line they can not cross is this one. No attachments like these. They're nothing but weaknesses, as they've always been and always will be. There's no sense in making that a problem now. It's never been a problem before. There's no sense in ruining a good thing for such an inane and useless risk. Not now. Not ever.

 

He inhales a bit raggedly. then he straightens his tie, pours himself more punch, and hovers back over to the party. He observes the merry on-goings. He does not engage. he does not re-enter the circle.

 

Pyronica sniggers, patting Kryptos on the back.

 

“Nice going, Kryp! You’ve made Hector blush!” She giggles, scruffing the human on her lap absentmindedly as she spins the person once more.

 

Kryptos fiddles with the chain. So he wasn't seeing things.

 

...and everyone else saw it too. Great. Just...great…

 

The stone human twirls around and hits Pyronica and Keyhole. She eyes him hungrily.

 

“Oh no.” Keyhole says.

 

“Oh yeah, baby! C’mere and gimme some sugar!” She leaps forward, sending Ford sprawling to the ground with a panicked yell. She pounces on top of the smaller monster, taking a huge bite out of his side with her fangs.

 

Keyhole was never fast enough in any circumstance. His howls ring out throughout the Fearamid. The henchmaniacs all laugh uproariously.

 

Kryptos lunges forward and grabs the human before he can get trampled by Pyronica or any other monster eager to get out of her way.

 

He retreats back to his seat and holds the human a bit close. "Are you ok?"

 

“Ugh…. I think so… Thanks, kid.” Ford mutters, rubbing a steadily growing bruise on his forehead.

 

Pyronica cackles with delight, giving Keyhole a final lick before leaping into the air and floating back down to her spot with a grin.

 

“Mmmm! You taste good, Keyhole!” She calls out, making a point of swallowing the piece of him she’d bitten off.

 

Keyhole gives a final shriek, skittering away from the circle. The game's only fun if you win, as Hectorgon can attest.

 

Kryptos shrugs. He gives the human a quick once-over and points to his head. "Are you injured?"

 

Bill probably won't care about something this small, but Kryptos has to be sure...

 

“Just a bit… I’ll be fine…” Ford says, a migraine steadily forming.

 

“AAH! Where’s my little human?” Pyronica looks around before spotting Ford. “There it is!!! Did you think you could get away from me?” She giggles, dragging him back over to her and putting him in her lap.

 

“No! NO! I DON’T LIKE THIS LET ME GO!” Ford decides to try one more time to put his foot down.

 

“Aww! Of course you like this! Now stop struggling!”

 

Ford refuses to stop, kicking out. “I’ve had ENOUGH!”

 

Kryptos can't help but feel a little bad for the human. He's been through quite a bit as it is, and Pyronica...she can be a little much to handle sometimes, even on a good day.

 

"Hey, Roni?" he says quietly. He clears his throat. "Hey, Roni, is it ok if I hold the human for a while?"

 

She wraps her arms around him tightly. “Aww… But you get to play with him all the time!” She pouts.

 

Kryptos wrings his hands. "J-just for a little bit?" he asks in the most pleading voice he can muster.

 

“No!” Pyronica squeezes the human even tighter. Ford wheezes, gasping for air.

 

“I’m playing with it now! You always get to play with it!”

 

Kryptos throws up his hands. "Ok, ok! just don't squish him!" he squeaks.

 

“He’s fine!” Pyronica ruffles the human’s hair again. Ford’s gone pale from lack of oxygen. He doubles over, panting for breath when she lets him go.

 

“I’m…. I’m not fine…” He gasps, coughing.

 

Kryptos shoots a worried look at the pair. He just wants the make sure the human doesn't die while under his care! How can this be such a difficult task?

 

Kryptos doesn't know how to get Pyronica to give the human back though. No one can make Pyronica do anything, really...

 

Well Bill can _sometimes_ , but he's likely not in a helpful mood at the moment. Kryptos gives the triangle a glance only to be met with an amused eye meeting his gaze. He stifles a yelp and looks away.

 

He quickly sits down close to Pyronica. "Hey h-how about we play more spin the person haha! Love this game..."

 

Pyronica picks up the human under his arms and holds him up to everyone.

 

“Let the games begin!” She says in a funny voice, using the human as a puppet. “Someone else spin the person! I got my hands full!”

 

Ford just gives up, flopping uselessly in the demoness’ grip as she cradles him to her chest and scratches under his chin.

 

Bill catches sight of Pyronica using Ford as a living marionette and bursts into a fit of laughter.

 

Kryptos sighs, releasing the chain and spinning the person for his friend. Well, at least they're on better terms now...that's something, right?

 

Pyronica beams up at Bill, sticking her tongue out at him before focusing on the game. It spins around and around before it hits Paci-fire and Teeth.

 

“EAT HIM, TEETH!” She cries out, bringing Ford back up to a puppet. “EAT HIM!”

 

Ford’s stomach churns, starting to feel extremely nauseous from all this jostling around.

 

Teeth cackles and chatters, racing after Paci-fire. Paci-fire simply flies out of the way, grinning a little too smugly.

 

"CHEATER!" Teeth shrieks, jumping wildly at the demon.

 

Kryptos feels the frustration curdling inside of him. He's not even exactly sure why it's there, since Bill doesn't seem to mind the human getting thrown around and injured much... But it's hard to gauge exactly how Bill feels...what he truly wants...

 

And...well Kryptos realizes some small, dangerous part of him doesn't want the human to get hurt anymore...he isn't sure why it's still there, after all that's happened... He tries to numb himself to it. Just get through this game. Just enjoy the party for a bit, Kryptos...try not to rock the boat and ruin anything else while you do it... He glances at Hectorgon and sighs, resigning himself.

 

“EAT HIM! EAT HIM! EAT HIM!” Pyronica start the chant, laughing raucously at the scene.

 

“Look at that, human! Isn’t that FUNNY?” She jostles him again, Ford’s body flops lifelessly in her grip.

 

“Woah… Hey… Helloooo?” She pokes at his face and his nose. No response… He’s passed out.

 

“Hey Bill! Your human’s kinda broken!” She shakes the floppy form back and forth.

 

Bill sighs, rubbing his eyeball. "Fordsy probably lost consciousness or something like that...of course he could have _died_ , haha, who knows! You know humans, weak as shit they are! A real pain!" He snaps his fingers at Kryptos, who jumps. "Krypster! see what's wrong him and wake him up if you can!"

 

Kryptos manages to stutter. "SS-s-sure thing b-boss..." and stumbles over to Pyronica, holding out his arms. "let me see him! let me see!" he tries to keep the panicky tones from his voice, but it's not working very well.

 

Pyronica pouts and drops the human onto the floor. A discarded toy. “It’s boring now.” She mutters. “Make it wake up!”

 

Of course, the fall merely broke Ford’s arms and legs so now his body is completely shutting down.

 

Kryptos hears the familiar snapping sound and shrieks in panic. "Pyronica! You broke him!"

 

Great. Now Bill will kill him... _again_....

 

He gives the human a terrified jostling, trying to wake him up, to no avail.

 

"B-bill, I-I think he's...d-dead? Or d-dying or _something_...!"

 

Bill groans more loudly, digging his fingers into his eye until it seems positively painful. The crowd stops their commotion to watch, all eyes on Bill now. No one wants to get in the path of his fury. No one dares provoke him.

 

He takes a leap from his throne and hovers down to the floor. "Out of my way, _out of my way_!"

 

He grabs the human by the torso, holding him up to his eye.

 

Ford groans, his head lolling to the side. His whole body throbs with pain.

 

Pyronica looks a little concerned now. “Aw man… I didn’t mean to break him! I was just having fun!” She pouts, crossing her arms.

 

Bill grumbles. "Well now all his bones are shattered, so nice work, _Nikki_!" He glares at her, a little bit of red seeping into his eye. Kryptos shrinks back. Most of the other henchdemons follow suite.

 

She bows her head. “Oops… I’m sorry, Bill… I didn’t mean it… I was just having fun…” Her voice is quieter now, reverent as she slowly backs away from him.

 

Ford whimpers, his eyes squeezing shut to avoid that glaring eye.

 

Bill rolls his eye, letting out a sigh of pure exasperation. He digs his fingers into his brow. "Well maybe next time be a little more careful, _'k Nik_?"

 

He snaps his finger with his free hand, knitting Ford's body back together indelicately. "Anyhow, I'm taking the human back to the penthouse now, so, ya know, don't wait up for me."

 

He gives Ford a little toss in his hand before digging his fingers into him. He mutters to himself as he hover back through the hallway, leaving the party behind him.

 

“Yes, Bill… Sorry, Bill…” Pyronica nods, backing even further. She can’t help but look a little wistful as the human is whisked away.

**Author's Note:**

> moose: okay but basically:
> 
> -slow pan and zoom to Bill on his throne-
> 
> *muffled Kill Bill theme plays*


End file.
